President of China Xi Jinping (R) and his wife Peng Liyuan (2nd L) accompany Britain's Queen Elizabeth (2nd R) and her husband Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh (L) as they arrive for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, October 20, 2015. (Photo/Xinhua)
Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace on Thursday before heading for Manchester. Xi said the visit gave him a "deep and beautiful impression".
"All the details, from the 103-gun salute to the group appearance of the royal family, including the 89-year-old queen, reflect the great intimacy of the two countries," said Cui Hongjian, head of the European Division at the China Institute of International Studies.
The trip witnessed the signing of deals worth almost 40 billion pounds ($62 billion), including an agreement to build a British nuclear power plant in southwestern England.
British Prime Minister David Cameron described the deal as "historic". The project, in which the Chinese take a one-third stake, will provide reliable and affordable energy to nearly 6 million homes and create more than 25,000 jobs.
"Britain definitely needs to modernize its infrastructure. This is a win-win situation here," Shada Islam, director of policy at Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe, told Xinhua.
Additionally, the two nations on Thursday issued a joint declaration on building a "global comprehensive strategic partnership for the 21st century".
