British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would meet the Chinese president Xi Jinping Monday, part of an attempt to thaw relations aimed at boosting economic growth in Britain, putting him at odds with the president-elect’s hawkish stance Donald Trump.

“I plan to have a bilateral relationship with President Xi,” Starmer told reporters as he traveled to the Group of 20 summit in Brazil on Sunday. “The Chinese economy is obviously the second largest in the world. “It is one of our main trading partners and I will therefore have serious and pragmatic discussions with the president.”