Scammer
Banned
-- David Cameron will on Monday attempt to give a fresh boost to trade relations with China when he greets Li Keqiang, Chinese vice-premier and one of the most powerful figures in the Beijing hierarchy.
In a sign of Britain's renewed efforts to catch up with France and Germany in the race to improve trade links with China, Mr Li, who is on a three-day visit to the UK, has been invited to meet every senior member of the government.
British officials say that although Mr Li is number seven in the Chinese hierarchy, he is strongly expected to replace Wen Jiabao, the current prime minister, in Beijing's leadership transition in 2012.
"Li is an extremely important political leader who is set to fully emerge in the near future," said a senior official from the Foreign Office.
"There is a big job to be done building personal political relations with him which is why he will meet the prime minister, deputy prime minister, chancellor of the exchequer and foreign secretary."
Mr Li arrived in Scotland on Sunday on the latest leg of a European tour, which sees him travelling with a 150-strong business and political delegation.
His visit follows Mr Cameron's trip to China last November, with Britain looking to China to open up its markets to exporters.
Officials say the UK will show Mr Li what it can offer in terms of financial services, while also showing off strengths in the use of renewables and low carbon solutions to climate change.
However, some trade experts warn that recent deals between Britain and China have been modest.
On last November's trip, Mr Cameron secured less than £1bn of business for British companies, almost all of it going to Rolls-Royce in a deal for 16 new jet engines. By contrast, Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, secured almost $20bn of deals for French companies in a meeting with Hu Jintao, Chinese president, a few days earlier.
Germany also has a long record of selling industrial equipment to the Chinese. "In the last 20 years, Germany has obviously led the way in European trade with China, selling heavy industrial goods," said a British diplomat. "But in the next 20 years, the UK is well placed to boost its trade in services."
Officials said Mr Cameron and his colleagues would be expected to raise concerns with Mr Li about China's infringement of the human rights of some of its own citizens. "But, as with the approach taken with the prime minister's Beijing trip, we will not get into detail on who will be raising what, when, and on what subject," said an official.
In a sign of Britain's renewed efforts to catch up with France and Germany in the race to improve trade links with China, Mr Li, who is on a three-day visit to the UK, has been invited to meet every senior member of the government.
British officials say that although Mr Li is number seven in the Chinese hierarchy, he is strongly expected to replace Wen Jiabao, the current prime minister, in Beijing's leadership transition in 2012.
"Li is an extremely important political leader who is set to fully emerge in the near future," said a senior official from the Foreign Office.
"There is a big job to be done building personal political relations with him which is why he will meet the prime minister, deputy prime minister, chancellor of the exchequer and foreign secretary."
Mr Li arrived in Scotland on Sunday on the latest leg of a European tour, which sees him travelling with a 150-strong business and political delegation.
His visit follows Mr Cameron's trip to China last November, with Britain looking to China to open up its markets to exporters.
Officials say the UK will show Mr Li what it can offer in terms of financial services, while also showing off strengths in the use of renewables and low carbon solutions to climate change.
However, some trade experts warn that recent deals between Britain and China have been modest.
On last November's trip, Mr Cameron secured less than £1bn of business for British companies, almost all of it going to Rolls-Royce in a deal for 16 new jet engines. By contrast, Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, secured almost $20bn of deals for French companies in a meeting with Hu Jintao, Chinese president, a few days earlier.
Germany also has a long record of selling industrial equipment to the Chinese. "In the last 20 years, Germany has obviously led the way in European trade with China, selling heavy industrial goods," said a British diplomat. "But in the next 20 years, the UK is well placed to boost its trade in services."
Officials said Mr Cameron and his colleagues would be expected to raise concerns with Mr Li about China's infringement of the human rights of some of its own citizens. "But, as with the approach taken with the prime minister's Beijing trip, we will not get into detail on who will be raising what, when, and on what subject," said an official.
