Xi looks forward to visiting UK, improving political ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday said he looks forward to visiting the UK later this year at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II, which experts said would focus more on enhancing political ties than economic ones, during his meeting with Britain's visiting Prince William.

"I look forward to meeting British leaders during the visit to jointly plan out the future of Sino-UK relations," Xi told the prince after being handed the invitation by William during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People.

The Duke of Cambridge, whose trip indicates that the UK places great importance to China, has paved the way for Xi's planned visit to further improve bilateral relations, Tian Dewen, a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

"China also gave him a higher-than-normal reception, which shows the considerable emphasis Beijing places on Sino-British ties," Tian said.

Hailing the development of the China-UK comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi highlighted cooperation between the two countries in finance, nuclear power and high speed railways.

Xi said bilateral trade has exceeded $80 billion and that the UK was a major destination for Chinese investment.

Prince William's visit shows that the UK hopes China would further expand its investment, especially from State-owned businesses, into the fields of infrastructure and energy, Tian added.

However, Xi's UK trip is likely to focus on strengthening political relations, since Beijing expects the UK to "spearhead" the transformation of Sino-European ties, Tian said.

Xi called for the forging of four major partnerships, namely peace, growth, reform and civilization between China and the European Union in March 2014 during his visit to the EU headquarters.

Prince William said he was ready to strengthen relations between the two countries, and he was particularly interested in the younger generation.

During the meeting, Xi and William, both soccer fans, also talked about sports exchanges between the two countries. The prince said that he likes to see more Chinese players play in the English Premier League.

Xinhua contributed to this story