PM May, in Beijing, Touts ‘Golden Era’ of Ties

Date: 31 January 2018 - 20:57

News ID: ۴۹۵۴۴

BEIJING (Dispatches) -- China and Britain touted their "golden era" of relations on Wednesday as Prime Minister Theresa May visited Beijing to strengthen her country's global trade links before its contentious divorce with the European Union.
May brought a large business delegation for her three-day visit, which began earlier in the day in the central industrial city of Wuhan and continued in the Chinese capital.
May is battling criticism of her Brexit strategy back home. The House of Lords is scrutinizing a key piece of legislation on quitting the EU as a leaked government report shows only economic downsides to leaving the bloc.
Britain's ties with China have grown in importance as London contemplates its economic future after it officially leaves the EU in March 2019.
May was greeted at the imposing Great Hall of the People by Premier Li Keqiang, who noted that the prime minister was visiting Beijing ahead of next month's Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival.
"I believe that a visit in the early spring will bring new fruits, which will further raise the golden era in China-Britain relations. I'm willing to exchange views on issues of mutual concern with you," Li said.
May said their meeting was an opportunity to "consider how we can build further on that golden era and on the global strategic partnership that we have been working on between the UK and China".
"I think there is much that can be done in the trade area," she said.
May is accompanied by her husband Philip and a delegation of 50 business leaders and organization representatives, which her office said was "the largest" her government has ever taken overseas.
China has high expectations that London will endorse its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a massive infrastructure project aimed at reviving ancient Silk Road trade routes between the East and West and creating greater market access for Chinese companies.
The British government, however, has been less sanguine about the project, with May's spokesman saying that while the idea holds promise, it is "vital that BRI projects meet international standards".
She will hold talks with President Xi Jinping on Thursday and finish her visit Friday in the eastern business hub of Shanghai.
"The UK and China will not always see eye-to-eye," she wrote in a Financial Times column.