Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair held talks at the Great Hall of the People Monday morning. Wen and Blair pledged to further strengthen relations between China and Britain.

Both men hailed their strengthening relations after an hour of talks. Wen praised Blair for his foresight and effort in improving Sino-British ties.

Premier Wen said he was glad that Sino-UK relations had improved and strengthened continuously over recent years, which is inseparable from Prime Minister Blair's efforts.

Viewing the visit as a new starting-point, China was willing to join the British side in improving Sino-UK relations, to achieve still faster and greater development, said the premier.

Blair, on his first trip to China in five years, said he was happy to visit China again. He expressed his belief that the strengthened relationship between Britain and China would, beyond any doubt, continue to develop in economic and political fields.

"I have got no doubt at all it will continue to strengthen further both in the economic field, where we are the largest European investor in China, but also in the political field as well, where we are working together in resolving some of the critical issues that face our world," Blair said.

The closed-door talks between the two sides indicated candid exchanges in many spheres and much common consensus, Blair said.

He expressed his hope that the two sides could work hard jointly to create a stable, peaceful international environment.

Blair is expected to meet President Hu Jintao later on Monday. He is expected to take on the Korean Peninsula nuclear standoff, the postwar reconstruction of Iraq and India-Pakistan issues, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

"Britain hopes to enhance coordination with China on a number of regional and international hot topics,'' said Zhao Jun, director of the ministry's Department of Western European Affairs.

Blair arrived in Beijing Sunday night, kicking off his three-day official visit to China. He is the second Western European state leader, following French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, to meet with the new Chinese leadership.

He is also going to meet Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemin.

Britain is one of the few Western countries with an embassy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and Blair has discussed the nuclear issue when he visited Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) after a stop in Washington.

Being two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and Britain share common interests and responsibilities in a variety of international affairs, said Professor Zhao Huaipu of the Beijing-based Foreign Affairs College.

"Both (China and Britain) hope to see stability in the Korean Peninsula, Iraq and South Asia at an early date,'' Zhao Huaipu said.

Blair will focus on promoting trade ties with China, which has so far not figured very prominently on the prime minister's agenda.

There will be the exploration of the potential for economic cooperation between the two nations, said Zhao Huaipu.

Bilateral trade volume was US$11.4 billion last year, and had reached US$5 billion by May 2003, an increase of 16.3 percent over the previous year. By the end of 2002, the UK had invested in 3,406 projects in China, with US$10.7 billion actually put into use, ranking the UK the largest investor among European Union members in China.

"I believe that Chinese leaders and Blair will discuss new philosophies and measures to boost bilateral cooperation in various fields,'' said Zhao Jun.

Blair is taking a number of British business leaders with him to China -- including executives from the pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline, auto giants Rolls-Royce and oil companies Shell and BP.

They will attend a forum with Chinese entrepreneurs in Shanghai, and Blair is due to make a speech on globalization to the British Chamber of Commerce in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).

"The smooth transfer of government in Hong Kong between China and the United Kingdom in July 1997 opened a new chapter in the annals of Sino-British relations,'' said Zhao Jun.

During Blair's visit to China in October 1998, the two countries issued a joint statement, formally announcing the establishment of a comprehensive China-UK partnership.

"Blair has clearly expressed his hope that Hong Kong would act as a `bridge' of bilateral relations rather than a barrier,'' Zhao Jun said, adding that recent years witnessed a good momentum for the development of a comprehensive China-UK partnership.

(China Daily July 21, 2003)