adminChinese President Xi Jinping addressed British politicians in London during a four-day visit in which more than $46bn of trade and investment deals are expected to be signed.
The two countries are expected to cooperate on major infrastructure projects – ranging from building high speed rail links to developing nuclear power stations – which would create thousands of new jobs.
The expected flagship deal is a plan for two state-owned Chinese utilities to invest in a $25bn nuclear power project being built by French utility EDF at Hinkley Point in southwest England.
Britain rolled out the red carpet for Xi, who was welcomed with a 41-gun salute and given a ride in a gilded carriage with Queen Elizabeth before given the rare honour of addressing politicians from both Houses of Parliament.
Hailed as the start of a “golden era” in Sino-British relations, the visit, which will seal $46.4bn in deals, has been criticised by activists who accuse Cameron of turning a blind eye to Beijing’s rights abuses.
Police kept those protesting against China’s human rights record from the ceremonies marking Xi’s visit.
Shouting “Don’t trade away human rights” and “China: Buying UK’s silence on Tibet”, protesters expressed support for the Falun Gong, the spiritual sect banned as a cult in China, and called for independence for the people of Tibet.
Others took aim at what they called Xi’s crackdown on civil liberties since he took power in 2012. The visit “shows that England is not giving a damn about human rights”, said Aisha Nahmmacher, 24, from south London.
But their voices were drowned out by supporters who banged drums and held portraits of Xi as they took photographs outside Buckingham Palace, where Xi and his wife will stay as guests of the queen.
During Xi’s visit yesterday, the British government also said it will try to encourage more high spending Chinese tourists to visit the country by introducing a two year multiple-entry visa.
“It’s focusing on one of the real attractions that we have. The Chinese population like coming here for our culture, our heritage, our retail,” said a spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron.
Chinese visitors are normally issued with a six-month tourist visa at a cost of $130.
The new scheme will, for the same price, issue a two-year tourist visa that allows the holder to leave and return without the need for fresh paperwork.
The scheme is due to be launched in January and could be extended to introduce a 10-year multiple entry visa.
The number of Chinese tourists visiting Britain has more than doubled over the last five years to 185,000 in 2014. The government estimates that whilst in Britain they contribute $770 million annually to the economy.
“(Chinese tourists) contribute a huge amount to our economy… we want to make the most of that and look at how we can grow that in the coming years,” the spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, China’s economic growth has slowed down in the latest quarter, the slowest since early 2009 in the aftermath of the global crisis, latest data say.
The world’s second-largest economy grew by 6.9 percent in the three months ended in September, data showed on Monday. That was down from the previous quarter’s 7 percent.
Weakening trade and manufacturing have fuelled concern about possible job losses and unrest. The communist government has cut interest rates five times since last November in an effort to shore up growth.
However, consumer spending accelerated over the course of the quarter, helping to shore up the expansion. Growth in retail sales picked up from 10.5 percent in July to 10.9 percent in September. Spending on e-commerce grew by 36 percent in the third quarter over a year earlier.
“Continued downward pressures from real estate and exports caused GDP growth to drop,” said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics in a report. “But robust consumption and infrastructure prevented a sharper slowdown.”
Much of China’s slowdown over the past five years is self-imposed as communist leaders try to steer the economy to more self-sustaining growth based on domestic consumption and service industry instead of trade and investment.— Al Jazeera and agencies
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