Record-breaking trade deals to be signed during president's trip

Chinese women wait on The Mall for President Xi Jinping's arrival during his ceremonial welcome in London on Tuesday. Thousands of people lined up around Buckingham Palace and on surrounding routes since early morning to welcome and greet the president, who is the first Chinese head of state to visit Britain in 10 years. REUTERS

The UK was the first developed nation to join the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, to issue renminbi-denominated sovereign bonds and to support the inclusion of the Chinese currency in the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights currency basket.

Trade volume between China and the UK reached $58 billion between January and September this year. Bilateral trade in 2014 amounted $80.9 billion in 2014, up 15.3 percent year-on-year.

Companies from the UK invested a total of $19.61 billion in 7,992 projects by the end of August in China. As China's top destination for investment in Europe, China's outbound direct investment to the UK surged from $1.35 billion in 2010 to 12.8 billion in 2014.

Chinese enterprises launched 112 projects in Britain last year, creating nearly 6,000 local jobs.

Stephen Phillips, chief executive officer of China-Britain Business Council, said that as China is promoting the modern service industry and undergoing an industrial upgrading boom to develop high-end products, British companies are keen to deploy more resources to China to develop energy-saving, modern service and equipment sectors from a long-term perspective.

Founded in 1953, the council is responsible for promoting trade, investment, innovation and technological cooperation between China and the UK. It has 13 regional offices throughout China.

"While China is conducting an all-around reform to improve its export capability, the UK is also undergoing structural reform to cast off its heavy dependence on the financial service sector. The two nations share a common interest and their demand for growth are quite complementary," said Cui Yanxin, a researcher at the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.