(chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-18 14:51

British Prime Minister has kicked off his maiden visit to China on Friday, with tackling climate change, boosting two-way trade and investment, and nurturing a warmer bilateral relationship top of the agenda.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) and visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown review the honour guard during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing January 18, 2008. [Agencies]

Brown's condensed 2-day trip is the first by a European leader this year to Beijing and has been billed by officials in both London and Beijing as of vital importance to strengthening ties and cooperation between the two states, both sitting on the United Nations Security Council.

Brown, widely reported by Chinese press ever since he served as financial chief of Tony Blair's administration, is being accompanied by around 30 businessmen and renowned personalities, including Virgin chief Richard Branson and British Olympic athlete Kelly Holmes .

Brown headed straight to meet Premier Wen Jiabao after his chartered British Airways jet touched down in Beijing. He was due to meet President Hu Jintao later, with the day set to be dominated by meetings with business leaders and senior government officials.

Brown's flight to the Chinese capital was briefly held up at London's Heathrow after a British Airways jet crash-landed short of the runway Thursday, causing delays at the world's busiest international airport.

Related readings:  Britain opposes Taiwan's planned referendum on UN bid  Britain launches largest festival of Chinese culture  Made-in-China goods add color, wealth to Britain  China, UK launch business program  Brown's visit boosts China-UK relations

Britain has been forging ever closer links with China in recent years.

In finance, Britain is China's largest European Union investor. Bilateral trade reached about US$40 billion in 2007. London said the visit would pave the way for a new target of US$ 60 billion in trade by 2010.

In education, some 75,000 Chinese students study in Britain, while London sees China, which hosts the Olympics this August, as a key tourist market as it prepares to host the next summer Games event in 2012.

Meanwhile, Britain's largest-ever Chinese cultural festival was launched on Tuesday.

In a sign of the weight being given to the visit, some 25 leading figures from the banking, financial services, pharmaceuticals, insurance, high-tech and energy sectors are accompanying Brown, British government officials said.

Brown's official spokesman Michael Ellam told reporters before leaving London that the trip was a chance to raise Sino-British relations to a "new level" and entice more Chinese firms to Britain, particularly London.

"The prime minister believes in particular that the UK and Chinese economies complement each other well," he added, citing Chinese manufacturing dominance and Britain's expertise in the services and high-tech products sector.

But greater investment in Britain through vehicles like sovereign wealth funds had to be matched by commitments to open markets and transparency, he said.

Brown has said he intends to seek Chinese and Indian backing for a new deal to fight global warming, amid concern at the environmental effects of the emerging economic giants' rapid, mainly coal-fuelled growth.

As developing economies, China and India are urging developed nations to lead the way and help in developing new green technology. British officials said deals are expected on developing "clean" energy.