Off the wire
• Severe drought hits southern Madagascar  • Chinese culture permeates fabric of British society  • Feature: Europe's oldest Chinatown needs to tell its story to the world, say cultural campaigners  • Airstrikes in Syria prove Russia's anti-terror ability: Putin  • Hungarian interior minister greets Slovak police coming to help at border  • After upsurge of violence, UN Security Council calls for free, fair elections in Central African Republic  • Roundup: Refugees desperate to reach EU as arrivals in Greece tops 500,000  • Transfusion with blood stored up to 6 weeks safe in heart surgery: study  • Roundup: Bangladesh approves new five-year development plan  • LME base metals prices mixed on Tuesday  
You are here: 　 Home

1st LD: Chinese president lauds "community of shared interests" with Britain

Xinhua, October 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

China and Britain are "increasingly interdependent" and becoming "a community of shared interests," Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday while addressing both Houses of British Parliament.

In an 11-minute speech, Xi said he believes his five-day state visit to Britain, the first one in a decade by a Chinese head of state, will lift the bilateral ties to "a new height."

Xi, who arrived in London on Monday evening, told the parliamentarians: "Although my visit has just started, I am already deeply impressed by the vitality of China-UK relations and the profound friendship between our peoples."

His audience also included Prime Minister David Cameron and Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn.

China and Britain have led the way in a number of areas in terms of bilateral relations, said Xi, labeling Britain as the first major Western country to recognize new born People's Republic of China (PRC) and the first European Union (EU) member to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with China.

Since Britain's recognition of the PRC 65 years ago, bilateral ties have undergone remarkable development thanks to close high-level communication and various cooperation mechanisms, laying a solid foundation for a new type of relations featuring pragmatism, inclusiveness, openness and win-win results.

As the backbone of bilateral ties, the two countries' economic and trade relationship has enjoyed rapid development in recent years.

"Britain is a leading offshore RMB trading center after Hong Kong. It is also the first Western country to issue RMB sovereign bonds and the first major Western country to apply full membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank," said Xi.

Moreover, Britain hosts more Chinese students and Confucius Institutes than any other EU country, said Xi.

There are currently 25 Confucius Institutes in Britain. While there are around 150,000 Chinese students studying in Britain, there are 6,000 British students studying in China.

According to a British report, China has become the largest source of overseas students in the European country.

"It is fair to say that China and Britain are increasingly interdependent and becoming a community of shared interests," said Xi. Endi