Boris And Osborne Make Chinese Trade Visits

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent in Beijing

The Chancellor and the Mayor of London will arrive in Beijing later on separate trade visits to China.

Both George Osborne and Boris Johnson will spend a week in the country, promoting British business but also trying to attract more Chinese investment in the UK.

Mr Osborne's arrival will signal the end of a diplomatic spat between Beijing and London which has lasted more than a year.

Both men are expected to sign a number of multimillion pound investment deals in which Chinese companies will fund or part-fund UK infrastructure and building projects.

Mr Osborne is expected to announce the names of the Chinese backers behind an £800m development at Manchester Airport.

Using Chinese money, five million square feet of land next to the airport will be developed into retail, office and manufacturing space.

Creating 16,000 new jobs over 15 years, the airport will be turned into a hub destination in its own right.

Similar projects in Amsterdam and Frankfurt have proved successful and eased congestion at other airports.

An £800m investment in Manchester Airport will create thousands of jobs

Speaking in Washington before leaving for Beijing, the Chancellor said: "I want to use my visit to China this week to strengthen strategic ties between Britain and China in areas that will drive our countries' growth."

A key strand of Mr Osborne's trip will be so-called "e-trade".

He is travelling with the UK Trade Minister Lord Green, City Minister Lord Deighton and the Minister for Science and Innovation, David Willetts.

With them are executives from a variety of British technology companies who will try to showcase the best of Britain's digital technology industry in China.

The delegation will hope the trip allows UK companies to gain access to the rapidly expanding Chinese market.

"The Chinese economy is changing," Mr Osborne said.

"Those who think it is just a low wage, low tech economy are making a mistake.

"It is becoming a cutting edge player in industries like technology and this is a huge opportunity for Britain."

Chinese tech company Huawei is investing £1.3bn in British broadband

The Chancellor will lead the delegation to the Shenzhen-based headquarters of Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications manufacturer, and TenCent, the world's third largest gaming and social media firm.

Huawei's growing footprint in Europe and America has caused controversy, with some suggesting that Chinese involvement in Western telecoms firms poses a security risk.

Despite that, Huawei has already pledged to invest £1.3bn in the UK's broadband network over the next four years.

Mr Osborne's visit is a clear endorsement of the company.

Alongside the commercial strands of his visit, the Chancellor will also hold governmental meetings with his Chinese counterpart Ma Kai.

Known as the UK/China Economic Financial Dialogue, the discussions will focus on a range of financial issues including the global economic recovery, the US debt ceiling debacle and London's efforts to become a Chinese currency trading hub.

Significantly, the talks represent the first face-to-face bilateral ministerial contact between the UK and China for over a year.

The UK has been in the political dog house with China since May 2012 when David Cameron and Nick Clegg chose to meet and be photographed with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet.

Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg met the Dalai Lama last year

The meeting enraged Beijing given the controversial claim China holds over Tibet.

Ministerial meetings between the two countries were cancelled and Beijing made its disapproval very clear.

Diplomatic sources in the Chinese capital have suggested the move was designed by Beijing not only to punish the UK but to send a clear message to other countries that it is not worth upsetting the world's second largest economy.

However, British officials are always keen to stress that despite the Dalai Lama meeting, for which the UK refused to apologise, trade between the two countries been unaffected by the spat.

Diplomats point out that inward Chinese investment to the UK in the last 18 months has been greater than the past 30 years combined.

The London Mayor's trip is separate but the broad objectives are the same.

Mr Johnson is travelling with the chief executives of several large companies including Justin King of Sainsbury's and Marc Bolland of Marks & Spencer.

He will spend three days in Beijing, where he will visit a UK brands fair, take a ride on the subway and attend a private meeting with China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, whose company Dalian Wanda is investing heavily in the Nine Elms area of London.

Mr Johnson will then travel to Shanghai before ending his trip in Hong Kong.

Both men are effectively cashing in on the thawing of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

By the end of the week, they hope to have signed a variety of deals, forged new relationships and facilitated meetings between UK and Chinese firms.

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