Top Chinese officials held a meeting with representatives from 30 British companies including Swire Group, HSBC (LON:HSBA) and Intercontinental Hotels (LON:IHG), according to a statement released by the Commerce Ministry on Friday.

The meeting comes ahead of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing next week, which aims to strengthen business relationships that have been under strain recently.

Ling Ji, China’s vice minister for commerce, participated in the roundtable discussion.

During the meeting, Ling emphasized that China and Britain should continue to deepen their trade and investment cooperation.

According to the ministry, Ling stated that both nations should “adhere to win-win cooperation, give full play to the role of economy and trade.”

Starmer’s upcoming visit to China is viewed as an opportunity to improve business ties between the two countries.