UK eyes next step in ties with China
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 15, 2013
The United Kingdom was ready to take "the next big step" in its relations with China, British Finance Minister George Osborne said in a speech at Peking University on Monday.
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British Finance Minister George Osborne |
He believed the two countries could compliment each other in science, in finance, in urban redevelopment, in energy, in trade, in services and in our creative industries.
He welcomed Chinese investments, saying that no country in the West is more open to investment, especially from China, than Britain.
"Because more jobs and investment in China mean more jobs and investment in Britain," said Osborne. "And that equals better lives for all."
"There are some in the West who see China growing and they are nervous," he said.
"They think of the world as a cake — and the bigger the slice that China takes, the smaller the slice that they will get," he said. "I totally and utterly reject this pessimistic view. If we make the whole cake bigger, then all our peoples will benefit. That should be the basis of our relationship with China."
"I don't want Britain to resent China's success, I want us to celebrate it. I don't want us to try to resist your economic progress, I want Britain to share in it," Osborne said.
During the five-day trade mission to China, several major deals are expected to be signed. On Sunday, a deal between a Chinese construction group and British firms to develop a business district around Manchester airport was announced.
Osborne's visit resumed normal exchanges between the two countries that were suspended after Prime Minister David Cameron met the Dalai Lama last year in spite of China's strong opposition.
Cameron cancelled a trip to Beijing in April after being told he would not be able to meet with high-ranking Chinese officials.
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