'Golden' handshakes hard to ignore

Last month George Osborne, the United Kingdom chancellor of the exchequer, was photographed gazing out of the window of a high-speed train, as it sat in a station in Northwest China.

He was jacket-less, and without a tie, prompting one UK commentator to suggest those "had been thrown-in too, in his desperation to cosy-up to his Chinese hosts".

The shot was taken shortly after Osborne - who'd already dropped what seemed like endless references to how we'd entered a "golden era" for Sino-British relations - effectively gave a nod and a wink to Chinese companies to pitch for eight contracts worth $18.25 billion, as he launched the bidding process for the UK's proposed High Speed Two rail line.