New momentum for ties

Growing mutual understanding is enabling China and UK to inject new vitality into their relations after recent setbacks

British Prime Minister David Cameron's official three-day visit to China starting Monday will mark the renormalization of political relations between China and the United Kingdom after the difficulties of the past one and a half years.

No one can doubt the importance of their relations. The two countries established the mechanism of regular meetings between the heads of government at an early stage and, for quite some time, UK investment in China has been the largest among European countries. Their cooperation in education and cultural exchanges is also is at the forefront of cooperation between China and other European countries. There are 130,000 Chinese students studying in Britain, the highest among European countries.

 

Ahead of his trip to China, British Prime Minister David Cameron meets with a student from Bohunt School who has been learning Mandarin. Cameron will pay an official visit to China from Monday to Wednesday. [Photo/ Xinhua]

There have been suggestions that since the outbreak of the debt crisis in the eurozone - especially after Cameron announced that the country would hold a referendum on its membership of the European Union - the UK's influence in the EU has dropped significantly. However, this kind of argument is somewhat overstated, it is true that the UK is unlikely to join the euro any time soon, but it is hard to imagine a UK withdrawal from the EU.

Inside the EU, Britain is a partner that China can rally support from. For example, Britain supports the EU recognizing China's full market economy status. In trade relations, Britain has been adhering to the principle of free trade and opposed the EU imposing definitive anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese products. The UK also has a positive, open attitude to Chinese investment.

For China, the importance of ties with the UK go beyond the bilateral scope. As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, bilateral cooperation in the UN and other multilateral institutions is of vital significance to regional and global development and security.

The UK has attached greater importance to advancing relations with China. In 2009, the British Labor government issued its first China strategy paper, "The UK and China: A Framework for Engagement", which states that China's impact on UK interests is already critical and it is growing, Chinese markets and investments are increasingly important for British businesses and China is "a major priority" in the UK's foreign policy.

When the coalition government came to power in 2010, the UK was in an economic recession due to the international financial crisis and the debt crisis in the eurozone. High hopes are placed on emerging economies, especially China, for sustaining the UK's economic growth. Cameron visited China the same year he assumed office in 2010 and expressed strong willingness to strengthen economic cooperation with China.