China and Britain are expected to make progress on trade and economic cooperation during President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit, including deals on energy, finance, real estate, medical treatment and automobiles.
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But Liu suggested the president would not respond well if reprimanded on human rights during his visit. Many, including myself, agree, he is in his right to take a stand for what he believes in, even if it means not attending the white tie and tiara event at Buckingham Palace. Osborne has already offered China an initial ￡2 billion government guarantee to secure Chinese involvement in the planned Hinkley Point nuclear power station.
The group said: “The [Chinese] government has ratcheted up censorship of the internet, clamped down on civil society, increased its ideological controls over the media and academia, and launched several large-scale crackdowns on human rights defenders, lawyers, and activists”. China typically does not comment on votes in other countries, viewing it as an interference in an internal affair. “These generous pledges. are good for the United Nations, good for the least developed countries, and good for China’s ambition for global leadership”.
Diplomatic relations between the two states had cooled in 2012, when British Prime Minister David Cameron met with the Dalai Lama in London. Both men will be spending huge amounts of time with the president, both in formal talks at Downing Street, then at Chequers and finally in Manchester.
The ambassador said the improvement in relations was down to the fact that “political mutual trust has been very much enhanced”. China was the fourth largest trading partner for Britain with $80.9 billion trade a year ago.
During his visit, Xi is scheduled to deliver a speech to the City of London, where he will systematically expound China’s domestic and foreign policies, charting the future course for China-Britain and China-Europe economic and trade cooperation.
Cameron and Osborne will place a strong emphasis on attracting further Chinese investment to the United Kingdom especially in the nuclear industry, high-speed railways, the aeronautical sector, and other infrastructure projects including utilities, airports and roads.
During president Hu Jintao’s state visit in 2005, Charles carefully side-stepped the issue by being out of the country on a tour of the U.S. on the night of the official dinner.
In contrast his son, the Duke of Cambridge, made a highly successful official visit to China earlier this year, and will be at the State banquet along with the Duchess of Cambridge.
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At a time when China’s sweeping reforms are entering a decisive year and as the government is drafting its 13th five-year plan, China’s top leader will take this significant visit as an opportunity to continue declaring his country’s peaceful development and its determination to continue the policy of reform and opening-up. At Xi’s summit with Obama during his state visit, China announced that it would work with the US Agency for worldwide Development towards the United Nations poverty reduction goals, though no details of the planned cooperation have been revealed.
