Curtains up for golden era in relations

President's visit will be crowning moment for fast-growing ties between China and britain

When President Xi Jinping makes his state visit to the United Kingdom at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II, it is going to be the first by a Chinese president in 10 years and will mark the start of the second decade of the nations' comprehensive strategic partnership. The visit will unveil a golden era for relations.

In fact, a golden glow was on the horizon when Prime Minister David Cameron in his Chinese New Year message referred to 2015 as the "golden year" for relations between China and the UK. The comprehensive and strategic partnership has since embarked on a fast track.

In March, the Duke of Cambridge paid his first visit to China, the most important royal visit to the country in nearly three decades. In the months that followed, high-level visitors shuttled between Beijing and London, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Beijing Party chief Guo Jinlong and special envoy Meng Jianzhu, who traveled to London to establish early contact with the new British government.

The Strategic Dialogue, the High-Level People-to-People Dialogue and the Economic and Financial Dialogue held annual events in Beijing and London. New British and Chinese consulates were also established in Wuhan and Belfast.

These exchanges are being translated into greater political mutual trust and all-round progress in China-UK collaboration.

Economic, trade and financial collaboration has already been fruitful. China is the UK's fourth-largest trading partner, while the UK is China's second-largest trading partner in the European Union and its No 1 investment destination in Europe. The UK is also an overseas renminbi trading center, second only to Hong Kong, and was the first developed country to become a founding member of the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The two countries are making progress on nuclear energy and high-speed rail projects. There is great potential to align China's Belt and Road Initiative with the UK's national infrastructure plan and the Northern Powerhouse strategy, and to create huge opportunities for the countries to pool their strengths for production capacity collaboration.

There has also been a succession of cultural events, with 2015 being the Year of China-UK Cultural Exchange. The People's Liberation Army Band and Chinese performance artists entertained audiences at Edinburgh's Military Tattoo and International Festival. Chinese creations, designs and fashion also lit up stages during London Design Festival and London Fashion Week. And the list goes on.

With such a high level of cultural exposure, there is no doubt about the close affinity between the people of China and the UK.

This strong bond is also highlighted by the fact there are more Chinese students and Confucius Institutes in the UK than in any other European country. The two countries recently also commemorated when fighting side-by-side in the war 70 years ago and reaffirmed their commitment to safeguarding world peace.

China-UK relations are increasingly stable and mature. It is a relationship that has brought tangible benefits to the countries and their people. It is also a partnership that is good for world peace and development.

With the arrival of the golden era, China and the UK will have the opportunity to engage in all-around cooperation and reap all-around benefits.

To make the most of this mature and stable relationship, China and the UK should see each other as partners and see each other's development as an opportunity. They should think outside the box and try to dovetail their growth initiatives for the benefit of both and even extend that benefit to other parties.

They should also make their partnership work for the world in terms of keeping peace and fighting terrorism, improving economic and financial governance, and responding to multiple global challenges.

With the state visit drawing near, expectations are high as the countries' leaders give a new definition to the bilateral relationship as well as setting out new goals and a new blueprint. The visit, therefore, will mark a significant milestone in China-UK relations.

Soon it will be curtains up for the golden era, and China and the UK are both ready.

The author is the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom.

(China Daily European Weekly 10/16/2015 page6)