Relations with China are a "major priority" for the United Kingdom in the coming years, the British Foreign Office said yesterday in a strategic document on Sino-British ties.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband yesterday launched the document, titled The UK and China: a Framework for Engagement, a few days before Premier Wen Jiabao is scheduled to visit the country.

The document calls for maximizing economic benefits while engaging China as a "responsible global player" on many hot international issues, ranging from the global financial turmoil to climate change.

In a foreword to the document, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown emphasized the importance of China in helping fight the financial crisis, "the most pressing issue".

"We need China to play a full role, in partnership with us, if we are to restore confidence, growth and jobs and make real progress towards creating an open, flexible and robust global economy," Brown wrote.

On the financial crisis, the document expresses the hope that China will play an "active and constructive role in the economic, financial and institutional reforms agenda at the Summit with G20 leaders in London in 2009, and follow-up processes".

Britain will host the summit in April as part of efforts to find a coordinated response to the global financial crisis.

It set a target of an annual bilateral trade of $60 billion, 100 new investment projects, and having 100 Chinese companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, double the current number, by the end of 2012.

Trade volume between the two countries reached $38.3 billion in the first 10 months of last year, Ministry of Commerce figures showed.

The latest document also highlights the importance of working with China on issues such as the environment and poverty alleviation.

"The UK is a key strategic partner of China on climate change and sustainable development", the document said. It also urged Beijing to meet its energy efficiency targets.

On poverty reduction, the document said Britain will seek to work closer with China and Africa. It also lauded China for being responsible for "75 percent of global poverty reduction over the last 20 years".

But in another foreword of the document, the British foreign secretary called for China's "greater respect for human rights", as "promoting human rights" is a fundamental part of the framework.

The report shows how Britain is putting more weight on China to seek a path out of the economic downturn, said Pang Zhongying, an international relations specialist with Renmin University of China.

"Britain is the worst-hit among European Union members in the financial crisis, due to its large exposure to the US economy," Pang said. "This has pushed Britain to adopt a more pragmatic attitude toward China."

(China Daily January 23, 2009)