Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan leave their plane as they arrive at Heathrow Airport
Chinese President Xi Jinping prepared to address Britain’s Parliament and dine with Queen Elizabeth II yesterday as he began a state visit that is intended to cement close economic ties between the two countries — but risks being overshadowed by concerns over Beijing’s growing economic clout in Britain.
Britain has laid on dollops of traditional pomp for the Chinese leader, whose visit opens with a ceremonial greeting by Queen Elizabeth II and a carriage ride to Buckingham Palace, where Xi and wife Peng Liyuan will stay during the four-day trip.
Tucked just off his route, lined with Chinese and British flags, will be rival groups of demonstrators — some there to give Xi a warm welcome, others to protest human rights abuses.
Britain’s Conservative-led government has been courting China, the world’s second-largest economy, for years. When Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao, paid a state visit to Britain in 2005, the countries announced USD1.3 billion in trade deals. This time, Britain said the nations would sign 30 billion pounds ($46 billion) in business agreements.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said the visit heralds a “golden era” between the two countries. But some British politicians, businesspeople and trade unionists are alarmed by growing Chinese investment in key sectors of the British economy.
China is set to build a new nuclear power plant in southwest England, and Treasury chief George Osborne has struck deals he says will make London’s financial district a bridge between China and Western markets. Last month he announced an agreement for the People’s Bank of China to issue renminbi-denominated short-term bonds in London — the first time this has been done outside China.
The deals have sparked accusations Britain is pandering to China to secure investment. Opposition politicians are urging Prime Minister David Cameron to raise China’s human rights record in his several meetings with Xi during the four-day visit.
Cameron is also under pressure to raise the issue of China selling steel at a loss on world markets.
Plunging world steel prices and a strong pound have pushed Britain’s steelmakers into crisis, with 1,200 layoffs announced yesterday at Tata Steel just weeks after 2,200 jobs were lost at SSI’s plant in northeast England.
Tata said the layoffs at plants in northeast England and Scotland were in response to “a shift in market conditions caused by a flood of cheap imports, particularly from China, a strong pound and high electricity costs.”
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond insisted Britain was “developing a mature relationship with the Chinese.”
“I don’t think we are naive,” he told the BBC.
But James McGregor, a China expert at consulting firm APCO, said Beijing would not respect a country that did not stand up to it.
“If you act like a panting puppy, the object of your attention is going to think they have got you on a leash,” McGregor said. Jill Lawless, London, AP
Supporters of chinese president gather in london
Supporters of Chinese President Xi Jinping were gathering in London for a gala arrival ceremony to mark the official start of his state visit. Chinese and British flags lined the route where the procession took place, with some dancing in the street with a dragon costume. Others wore T-shirts with “I (Heart) China,” with half of the heart filled in with part of the Chinese flag and the other half with part of the Union Jack, and small Chinese flags painted on their cheeks. Xi was to receive a formal welcoming ceremony and a carriage ride to Buckingham Palace yesterday before he addressed both houses of Parliament. Xi is a guest of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip. His visit is expected to spark some protests by those who question closer ties to China because of its human rights record. Xi was also expected to meet with Prince Charles yesterday and to attend a palace banquet.
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