Vice-Premier Li Keqiang (right) applauds British Prime Minister David Cameron's address at the China-UK Business Summit in Beijing on Wednesday. [China Daily]

Vice-Premier Li Keqiang said that China will deepen its ties with the United Kingdom by importing more technologies and competitive goods and encouraging more British companies to establish a presence in the country.

"Although trade and investment between the two countries have been growing steadily over the past few years, the total amount is still small," Li said on Wednesday in a speech at the China-UK Business Summit, held during British Prime Minister David Cameron's trip to China.

"There is plenty of room for the two countries to strengthen economic ties we encourage British companies to transfer advanced technologies and set up research and development centers (R&D) in China," Li said.

The UK is China's third-largest trading partner in the European Union (EU), while China is the UK's second-largest non-EU trading partner.

But in the first three quarters of this year, trade between the two countries was just US$35.75 billion, a fraction of China's $2.1 trillion total trade during the same period.

The UK now ranks the second-largest EU investor in China after Germany. Even so, only 3 percent of total investment from the EU went to China last year.

"In order to push bilateral trade and investment up a level, China will join hands with the UK to launch a series of strategic and exemplary projects in the coming years," Li said.

Li made his comment during the visit by the UK's largest ever business delegation to Beijing, which aims to promote prospects for British businesses and tie up a series of trade deals.

At a signing ceremony on Wednesday afternoon, 24 contracts were signed between companies from the two countries, including a 750-million-pound (US$1.2 billion) deal between Rolls-Royce and China Eastern Airlines to supply Trent 700 engines for 16 Airbus A330s to the airline company.

The deals were associated with cutting-edge technologies and will make use of the UK's leading R&D capabilities. Li said China will make greater efforts to protect intellectual property.

"China will create a more open, transparent and stable environment for UK companies through improving regulatory laws, widening market access and better protecting intellectual property rights," he said.

(China Daily November 11, 2010)