The leaders of Britain and China called Thursday for a “comprehensive strategic partnership” to deepen ties between their nations at a time of growing global uncertainty. Neither publicly mentioned Donald Trump, but the American president’s challenges to the post-Cold War order was clearly on their minds. Story continues below this ad“China-U.K. relations experienced setbacks in previous years, which was not in the interests of either country,” Xi said. The disruption to global trade under Trump has made expanding trade and investment more imperative for many governments. One will try to disrupt the trade in Chinese boat engines used by smugglers to bring people across the English Channel to Britain.