Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chinese leader Xi Jinping stressed the need for closer relations between their countries in order to face geopolitical headwinds, as the two met in Beijing on Thursday.

Starmer’s visit to China is the first by a British prime minister since 2018 and follows a slew of Western leaders seeking a rapprochement with Beijing recently, pivoting from an increasingly unpredictable United States.

The leaders met at the opulent Great Hall of the People, with Starmer telling Xi during their meeting that China is a “vital player on the global stage”.