British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to establish “consistent, strong” relations between the two countries as he continued efforts to thaw ties between London and Beijing at the G20 summit, Reuters reported.

The meeting in Brazil was the first between the two leaders since 2018, and Starmer took an upbeat tone, saying he wanted to work with Beijing in areas such as trade, the economy, and climate, as well as increase engagement in science, technology, health and education.

The British leader also said he planned to hold a “full bilateral meeting” with Xi Jinping in Beijing or London and expressed hope that his finance minister, Rachel Reeves, would be able to meet with Vice Premier He Lifeng before the resumption of the UK-China economic and financial dialog early next year.

For his part, the Chinese president told the British premier that the two countries have a huge space for cooperation, Xinhua reported.

The cooperative tone of the meeting is in stark contrast to ties under the previous Conservative government, which took a hardline approach to disagreements with China, especially over human rights, Hong Kong and allegations of “Chinese espionage,” Reuters wrote.