Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Threads WhatsApp TelegramBEIJING (Jan 29): Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed “really good progress” on issues including visa-free travel and tariffs during talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday. Xi and Starmer met at the opulent Great Hall of the People and both stressed the need for closer relations in order to face geopolitical headwinds. Starmer told Xi that China is a “vital player on the global stage” and that they needed to “build a more sophisticated relationship where we identify opportunities to collaborate”. “We did have a respectful discussion about that,” Starmer said, adding that he and Chinese leaders also talked about the treatment of Uyghurs. The visit by Starmer, who took the helm in 2024, follows finance minister Rachel Reeves’s trip to Beijing last year.