Warm welcome shows UK's new thinking
- By Yang Fang
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E-mail Guangming Online, October 21, 2015
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Golden age [By Zhai Haijun/China.org.cn] |
Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a state visit to the United Kingdom from October 19 to 23. The UK will carry out an elaborately arranged reception for him. President Xi's "exclusive visit" to the UK demonstrates China's high attention to China-UK relations. We can predict that President Xi's UK visit will take China-UK relations into a "golden era" when both sides enjoy more frequent strategic exchanges, closer economic and trade cooperation and both peoples see more practical benefits.
Britain also attaches great importance to President Xi's visit with long-term preparations including Prince William's visit to China this March, during which he handed over Queen Elizabeth II's invitation to President Xi and the Queen's announcement of her expectation of President Xi and his wife's UK visit in her speech at the opening of the new British parliament. Meanwhile, British high-level leaders also showed their friendliness to China in the hope of promoting China-UK relations to a new phase via President Xi's visit. British Prime Minister David Cameron first called this year the "golden year" of China-UK relations in his New Year speech. British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne visited China this September, claiming that the UK wants to become China's best trade partner.
Therefore, we can say that British government's high expectation on President Xi's visit reflects new thinking and new initiative to actively promote relations with China.
The UK: "Opportunity" key word for China-UK relations
British government expects close China-UK relations, hoping to seize development opportunities. At present, China is the UK's fourth largest trade partner, while the UK is China's second largest partner in the EU. In recent years, China and the UK have strengthened cooperation in bilateral trade, investment and finance, and "China impacts" in the UK's economy is growing dramatically. Given the global economy's current need for stability, the British government led by the Conservative Party will continue to take continuing economic growth as its main task.
Britain's "sense of competition" in developing China-UK relations is strong. At the end of 2013, British PM David Cameron said that the "UK is prepared to be China's strongest supporter in the West" during his first visit to China when China-UK relations improved. British government even tried to show its "uniqueness" as opposed to other countries, especially western countries. For instance, Britain takes itself as the most open economy in the EU, the country who welcomes China's investment most, the one who wants to be the best trade partner of China in the West.
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