Xi's state visit to herald golden age for Britain-China ties: academic

LONDON - Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Britain next week could herald the start of a golden age in the Britain-China ties, a British academic on international affairs said Saturday.

Prof. Nicholas Rees, dean of Arts and Humanities at Liverpool Hope University, told Xinhua that China in recent years has demonstrated that it has "come of age" on the international stage.

Xi's upcoming visit only to Britain on its itinerary is a clear sign of China's eagerness to develop closer links with London, said Rees, who also heads the university's politics and contemporary history faculty.

Xi will pay a state visit to Britain from Monday to Friday, the first by a Chinese head of state in a decade.

Rees said that Britain's post-austerity reconstruction needs to attract investment from overseas, and China is a key player in this regard.

"In the last few months we have witnessed ... a sign that China is coming of age. In respect of its global engagement, it is very much focused on Europe in terms of investment," he said.

"China is investing overseas, and particularly in Europe, and Britain is one of those key players along with France and Germany," he said.

"In many respects China has changed a lot in the last 20 years or so. There are still some myths and views about China, but if you look at the images on television screens and in the media, you can see how China operates today, with an open economy that is functioning," the professor said.

"Of course there are issues, but the British government takes a pragmatic view, looking at the realities of investment opportunities. Chinese business people, like British business people, want to make deals if they can," he noted.

With China's role in the world changing dramatically in recent years, Britain and Europe can't afford not to look at China, and India, the two big players in Asia, Rees noted.

Rees believed that trade with China is today far more sophisticated than the days when most imports centered on low cost plastic goods.

"It is increasingly along the lines of scientific, financial services and educational. You only have to look at the vast number of visas issued to Chinese people to come to the UK. The number of British people living in China is growing, but is still only 20,000 which is minute in terms of China's population," he said.

"We could be entering a golden age, a golden decade in our relationship with China. President Xi's statement recently to the UN was very much in line with China's policies. He was demonstrating soft power diplomacy, particularly around commercial and economic opportunities," he said.

"It will be very interesting to see what comes out of President Xi's visit. In some respects we are waiting to see if China will make the investments, such as in nuclear power and rail and road infrastructures, " he added.

"With very careful diplomatic manoeuvreing, and very nuanced language, and respect for the cultural differences, it could be the start of a golden age, or a golden decade in the future relationship between Britain and China," said Rees.