Chinese netizens have started "following" British Prime Minister David Cameron after he opened a microblog account on China's leading social network.
Cameron, who arrived in Beijing on Monday for a three-day visit, first wrote on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Nov. 29. The post read, "Hello my friends in China. I'm pleased to have joined Weibo and look forward to visiting China very soon." The post also had a Chinese translation.
Chinese online users responded with "Welcome to China" and "Hello Cameron."
As of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, his account "Yingguoshouxiang" or "British Prime Minister" has posted eight entries and attracted 258,640 followers.
Entries in Chinese read, "I have learnt about how Jaguar and Land Rover achieved great success in the Chinese market" and "I have witnessed their signing of contracts with China."
Also in Chinese, Cameron's post read, "Thanks for your attention. I am very glad to be visiting China again and eager to know what you think. Leave your questions here and I will answer some when I conclude the visit."
Netizens asked various questions, some ridiculous and funny.
"FalcoNi_MJ" wrote, "Hi David, could you kindly ask the TV crew to accelerate the shooting of Sherlock, we deadly miss the curly Sher."
"Also, do you see Beijing defeating London and getting the title City of Fog? Thank you," "FalcoNi_MJ" added.
Other comments included, "Please let Manchester United sell Rooney quickly," "Prime minister, can you simplify the visa procedure?" and "I really want to visit Downtown Abbey."
Some netizens even asked the prime minister for his opinion on diver Tom Daley dating a man.
This is Cameron's second visit to China since he took office in May 2010. He first visited in November 2010.
A delegation led by Cameron includes six cabinet ministers and 150 representatives from business and trade.
During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's talks with Cameron, both sides agreed on cooperation in a number of areas, such as high-speed rail, nuclear power, finance and aerospace.
Li suggested the two countries bolster trade and investment, enhance fiscal and financial cooperation, deepen high-tech collaboration, strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and consolidate communication and cooperation on international and regional issues.
Cameron said the UK places great importance on developing ties with China, and would like to maintain high-level interactions.
Cameron also reaffirmed the UK's commitment to communicating and coordinating with China on international and regional issues, safeguarding world peace and security, and promoting the stable recovery and sustainable development of the world economy.
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