UK sets scene for Beijing love story

CHINESE President Xi Jinping begins a four-day visit to Britain today in which human rights issues are to be eclipsed by lavish ceremony and hardnosed business talk heralding a “golden era” in ties.

With an Asian superpower with deep pockets and international ambitions on one side and a European financial hub keen on attracting investment on the other, the scene is set for a UK-China love story.

But Prince Charles will not attend an official banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II in what is being seen as a snub by the Dalai Lama-friendly heir to the throne.

And Jeremy Corbyn, the outspoken new leader of the opposition Labour Party, could also ask Mr Xi some tough questions about dissidents and media censorship.

But these concerns are likely to remain secondary as Britain rolls out the red carpet for Mr Xi, who will get a carriage ride to Buckingham Palace and will address British parliamentarians at the Houses of Parliament.

Mr Xi is bringing along a retinue of bankers and businessmen, which could include Jack Ma, the founder of ecommerce giant Alibaba, and a string of contracts are expected to be signed.

The state visit is the first since then-president Hu Jintao’s in 2005, and British Prime Minister David Cameron and China’s ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming, have said it will herald a “golden era” in relations.

Britain “is becoming the leader in Europe and indeed in the West” in its relations with China, Mr Xiaoming said, while Mr Cameron lauded increased trade ties.

China “is investing more in Britain now than other European countries”, Mr Cameron told Chinese state television.

Economics professor Ivan Tselichtchev, an expert on Asia, said burgeoning relations between the two countries were led by a business rationale.

“The UK is effectively the only European country showing a strong political will to attract ‘China money’ into infrastructure projects ... perhaps more than any other major developed nation, the UK values the business dimension in its relationship with Beijing.”

Chinese sovereign wealth funds, state enterprises and, increasingly, private companies are buying up British firms and land, creating joint ventures with local partners or setting out on their own in Britain — a bridgehead to continental European markets.

Michael Gestrin, an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, has calculated that China has accounted for about $70bn in mergers and acquisitions in Britain since 2008.

Some of China’s purchases — such as the takeover of the company that makes traditional London taxis — have been striking on a symbolic level, but investments in infrastructure are more impressive and promise to grow.