Beijing - China and Britain affirmed strengthening ties on Tuesday as the British prime minister headed his country's largest-ever official delegation to China - the latest European push to win business and spur a sluggish economy at home.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who is being accompanied by four Cabinet ministers and about 50 business leaders, met with Premier Wen Jiabao at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of the capital following a formal welcoming ceremony. He meets President Hu Jintao on Wednesday.
The two-day visit marks Cameron's second major foray to court an emerging economy since taking office in May. He went to India in July.
“My new government does highly value the relationship between Britain and China and we believe that this is an area where there should be great continuity with the last government who helped establish this very strong relationship,” Cameron said.
Wen recalled Cameron's pledges to boost ties made last year before taking office as well as communication between the men in the months since.
“All of that fully showed your determination to push forward friendly co-operation between China and Britain. We highly appreciate that and I would like to welcome you to China,” Wen said.
Last year, China was Britain's third-largest source of imports and ninth-largest export market. Cameron has said he hopes to see annual bilateral trade double by 2015 to more than $100 billion, including $30 billion per year in British exports.
On Wednesday, Cameron will deliver a speech insisting Britain retains considerable global influence despite its economic woes, and constitutes an important trading partner for China.
Cameron is joined by executives from Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Tesco PLC, Barclays bank and Diageo PLC, among others. Treasury chief George Osborne, Business Secretary Vince Cable, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne and Education Secretary Michael Gove are also on the trip.
Cameron's visit comes on the heels of Hu's trip to France and Portugal last week that resulted in $20 billion worth of contracts for French and European firms. Wen visited several European countries in September and October, conveying pledges to strengthen trade and purchase Greek bonds.
Boosting trade and avoiding protectionism will also be on the agenda at the Group of 20 meeting on Thursday and Friday in Seoul, South Korea, where Chinese and European officials will meet with counterparts from the United States and elsewhere.
However, the focus on trade ties has raised questions about Cameron's willingness to engage China on human rights, Tibet, rule of law and other concerns. His office says he will challenge China on its human rights record during his visit, but has declined to elaborate.
“This visit offers an opportunity to discuss some of the areas where we have differences and how we might narrow them, for example through our continuing human-rights dialogue,” Cameron wrote in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal.
Cameron's visit is the first by a British leader since China executed a 53-year-old British man, Akmal Shaikh, for drug smuggling in December, despite an official appeal on his behalf from London. The execution drew condemnation from British politicians and rights groups who argued Shaikh was delusional and had unwittingly been exploited by criminals.
George Young, the leader of the House of Commons, has said Cameron will discuss the case of jailed Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last month. China has responded with a furious campaign to demonise Liu and the prize committee and has placed Liu's wife and colleagues in the embattled dissident community under house arrest ahead of next month's award ceremony in Oslo. - Sapa-AP