When China’s first family visited the land of royals
Chinese media trumpeted President Xi Jinping's visit to Britain, running triumphant coverage of the trip at odds with Western accusations that London has sold out to the Asian giant.- It suggested that London may in the future even support Beijing on the UN Security Council.
- Britain is seeking increased trade, investment and international influence from its relationship with China, it said, and 'the two countries should eliminate all disturbances, and seize the moment to deepen the development of their bilateral
- The 'ultra-state visit' put on for Xi featured the best of everything, according to a breathless commentary in the overseas edition of the People's Daily, the Communist Party's official mouthpiece, which portrayed the trip as the start of a
- Front pages across the country featured glamorous pictures of President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan with British politicians and royalty, opulently illustrating what the governments have described as a 'new golden era' between the nations.
- Editorial pages in the United States and Britain have lambasted Downing Street for abandoning human rights concerns in favour of improved trade relations with the world's second largest economy, but Chinese state media praised British 'pragmatism'.
- The pub's landlord Steve Hollings said that Cameron and Xi had chatted for around three-quarters of an hour and had been 'extremely friendly'.
- 'I dropped into The Plough at Cadsden for a pint of IPA and some fish and chips with China's President Xi,' Cameron tweeted afterwards, along with a picture of him talking to Xi in which hunting guns could be seen hanging on the bare-brick wall
- The two world leaders, in suits but tieless, could be seen awkwardly sipping their ales at The Plough, an establishment close to the British Prime Minister's residence of Chequers northwest of London.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping headed for a traditional British pub on Thursday, during his state visit, indulging in a beer and a portion of traditional fish and chips with Prime Minister David Cameron.
- Britain says the visit will lead to commercial deals in a range of sectors including financial services and energy, open up export opportunities for British business and draw investment in infrastructure projects.
- Prince Charles, heir to the throne and a supporter of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, will not attend Tuesday night's state banquet, though he will take tea with Xi earlier in the day.
- The Times newspaper's cartoon on Monday showed Cameron standing on a red carpet and bowing so deeply to Xi that he ended up burying his head in the ground.
- Cameron's spokeswoman told reporters Monday that 'nothing is off the table' and insisted that he would raise human rights with Xi.
- Despite the lavish reception which both sides say heralds a 'golden era', there are fears that the desire to boost Britain's economy through Chinese investment means Cameron will not press Xi hard enough on human rights.
- Cameron's office says the visit will secure trade and investment deals worth more than 163.30 billion (40 billion euros, $45 billion) and lead to the creation of more than 3,900 jobs.
- Xi stayed with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, enjoyed a state banquet and visit Downing Street, Cameron's country residence Chequers and even Manchester City football club.
- London has since abandoned most public signs of confrontation with Beijing for a conciliatory approach that Western critics have condemned as 'kowtowing'.
- 'A rising country should understand the embarrassment of an old declining empire and at times the eccentric acts it takes to hide such embarrassment', the paper wrote in an editorial.
- The paper intensified the rhetoric the following year after reports that the British foreign ministry had resisted a request from Premier Li Keqiang for a meeting with Queen Elizabeth.
- The high-level freeze lasted for over a year. When Prime Minister David Cameron travelled to China in 2013 hoping to patch up relations, an editorial in the Global Times mocked Britain for being 'an old European country', useful only for 'travel and
- That tete-a-tete 'hurt the feelings of the Chinese people', Beijing said, and the chairman of China's legislature, Wu Bangguo, abruptly cancelled a trip to Britain.
- The tone is dramatically different to Chinese media declarations when relations between the two countries soured after Prime Minister David Cameron met the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama during a 2012 visit to London.
- British business deals with China, including in such sensitive sectors as nuclear power, should set an example for other countries, according to an editorial in the Global Times, which is close to the ruling party.
Chinese media trumpeted President Xi Jinping's visit to Britain, running triumphant coverage of the trip at odds with Western accusations that London has sold out to the Asian giant.
When China’s first family visited the land of royals
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