PHOTO: REUTERS[BEIJING] British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed a reset of ties on Thursday (Jan 29), pledging to build an economic partnership with deals including a major investment by AstraZeneca that they said would benefit both countries. “We can deliver a result that can withstand the test of history,” Xi told Starmer, flanked by his top ministers, at their summit at the Great Hall of the People. He follows in the footsteps of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who this month signed an economic deal with Beijing to tear down trade barriers, drawing Trump’s ire. Starmer gifted Xi a ball from a recent match between Manchester United, the Chinese president’s favoured team, and the British premier’s team Arsenal. “I made the promise 18 months ago, when we were elected into government, that I would make Britain face outwards again,” Starmer told Xi at the summit talks.