British communities laud outcomes of President Xi's visit

Visiting President Xi Jinping (2nd L, front), his wife Peng Liyuan (2nd R, front), British Queen Elizabeth II (1st L, front), and Prince Philip (1st R, front) attend a traditional ceremonial welcome in London, Oct 20, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Keith Bennett, a veteran China watcher, told Xinhua that the outcomes of Xi's state visit showed that the British-Chinese ties have the potential to become a model for handling relations between a major developing country and a major developed country, a model for handling relations between permanent members of the UN Security Council, and a model for handling relations between countries with different social systems.

Strategic topics and big economic and trade deals perhaps were the highlights of the visit, but the visit was an all-around and multi-level one, said Bennett, who is also the deputy chairman of the 48 Group Club, an independent business network committed to promoting positive relations between Britain and China.

Economic and trade cooperation pulls common growth

A huge number of commercial deals signed between China and Britain during Xi's visit will bring job opportunities to Britain, said Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo, an international relations and international political economy expert at King's College London.

The deals also meet the needs of the Chinese government and enterprises to explore new business opportunities, said Pardo.

Bennett said that cooperation projects on nuclear power stations between the two countries have drawn great attention, and the extensiveness and diversification of cooperation agreements between them also deserve to be focused on.

The British newspaper Daily Telegraph has published an article on its website entitled "Hinkley is not kowtowing to China -- this is a two way street," referring the participation of Chinese companies in building of a nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in southwestern England.

The agreements signed during Xi's visit should be viewed in a positive way, it said, noting "Not only should our strengthened relationship with China be seen as a good thing... it should also be viewed as a way of allowing British business to take a bite out of the world's second largest, and fastest growing, major economy."