Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd R) and his wife Peng Liyuan (1st L), and visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip May, have an afternoon tea in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 1, 2018. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)
British Prime Minister Theresa May's visit to China, the first since she took office in 2016, will bring new shine to the "Golden Era" for both countries.
It marks the first trip to China by a British prime minister since Chinese President Xi Jinping's tour to Britain in 2015 when both sides sealed the China-UK "Golden Era."
The three-day visit, which ends Friday, is expected to yield "golden fruit." A dozen deals worth about 9 billion pounds (about 12.8 billion U.S. dollars) are expected to be signed in areas including Belt and Road construction, finance, innovation, agriculture, and technology.
The China-UK relationship has long been considered a good example for ties between China and Western countries in terms of seeking common ground while respecting differences.
The United Kingdom was the first major Western country to join the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member.
Britain is China's second largest trading partner within the European Union (EU) and China is Britain's second largest non-EU trading partner.
Trade volume between the two countries hit 79 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, up nearly 6.2 percent from the previous year, with British exports to China increasing by 19.4 percent.
Now, both China and Britain stand at the entrance to a new era. The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China marked the beginning of a new era for socialism with Chinese characteristics. In the UK, amid critical Brexit negotiations, a new era for "Global Britain" is also being unveiled.
Hence the upgraded "Golden Era" for China-UK ties is of vital importance for both sides to create a shared future and forge a closer global partnership in the post-Brexit era.
The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative offers huge potential for China-UK cooperation in the new era. It provides opportunities in logistics and infrastructure construction, and stimulates supply on both sides.
In a bid to support the involvement of British businesses in the initiative, the British government recently pledged up to an equivalent of 35.61 billion U.S. dollars in financial support for companies participating in the Belt and Road projects in Asia.
More opportunities, especially in areas including infrastructure, the internationalization of Chinese currency RMB, green finance, and technological innovation, will emerge as a post-Brexit Britain seeks to build global partnerships while sticking to free trade and an open economy.
China and the UK can also enhance their cooperation in global governance, climate change, sustainable development, and fighting terrorism as the post-Brexit United Kingdom will attach more importance to its role in global institutions such as the United Nations and G20.
As both are committed to free trade and globalization, the two countries are set to forge an enhanced version of the "Golden Era" in bilateral relations.
