Britain and China hailed a reset in relations on Thursday, after Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Xi Jinping pledged greater cooperation on trade, investment and technology to the mutual benefit of both countries.With Western leaders reeling from the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump, Starmer became just the latest to head to China where he called for a “more sophisticated relationship” with greater market access, lower tariffs and investment deals.In the first visit by a British leader in eight years, Starmer agreed to 30-day visa-free access for Britons, discussed lower Chinese tariffs on whisky, and welcomed a $15 billion investment by the UK’s AstraZeneca into China.Starmer spent around three hours with Xi at a formal summit and a lunch, during which the pair discussed trade and security, the war in Ukraine, and soccer and Shakespeare.The British PM held up a plan by AstraZeneca to pioneer new medicines by investing heavily in its Chinese operations as proof of the benefits that could flow to both countries.He said the closer ties would enable Britain to engage in “frank dialogue” when there was disagreement.Starmer, whose centre-Left Labour government has struggled to deliver the economic growth it promised, has made improving relations with the world’s second-largest economy a priority.China will reduce its tariffs on Scotch whisky to 5 per cent from 10 per cent following talks between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the British premier’s press secretary said on Thursday.The reduction is a boost for one of Britain’s most valued export products in a key growth market, and the press secretary said it was expected to be worth £250 million ($345.35 million) over five years for UK whisky exporters.Security pact to crack down on people-smuggling gangsBritish PM Keir Starmer will clinch a new border security agreement with China to stem the flow of Chinese-made small boat parts used by smuggling gangs to illegally transport migrants into the UK, Downing Street said on Thursday.“Organised immigration crime and the business model of the smuggling gangs goes beyond borders and our approach to shut them down must do the same,” said Starmer, in a statement released by 10 Downing Street in London.Tariffs to be halved on British whisky