Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and British Prime Minister David Cameron (left) talk as they arrive at a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday. Photo: AFP

British Prime Minister David Cameron commenced a three-day visit to China on Monday with a 100-strong business delegation, the largest of its kind, and pledged to lay the groundwork for a free trade deal between Beijing and the European Union.

Cameron said the scale of the business delegation "mirrors the scale of the ambition that we have for the British-China partnership."

This is the first trip to China by Cameron after his meeting with the Dalai Lama in May last year prompted protests from Beijing and soured the relationship between the two nations. 

"Senior ministerial level dialogues are obviously very helpful to UK business with China. We haven't had any of those really senior level visits for the last 12 to 18 months," Ralph Rogers from the China British Business Council told Sky News.

After meeting with the prime minister, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said at a joint press briefing that China and Britain have agreed to enhance cooperation in sectors such as high-speed rail, nuclear power and finance.

Specifically, Li said that China is willing to have joint shares and even hold shares in British nuclear power projects, adding that Britain is open to that.

The two leaders also discussed offshore yuan business in London and Chinese banks' opening of branches in the UK.

Li added that Britain has agreed to take measures as soon as possible to increase high-tech exports to China, while both countries will jointly establish an innovation and research fund of 200 million pounds ($327.72 million).

"China's transformation is one of the defining facts of our lifetime ... I see China's rise as an opportunity, not just for the people of this country but for Britain and the world," Cameron told reporters.

"An open Britain is the ideal partner for an opening China ... No country in the world is more open to Chinese investment than the UK."

Britain is one of the most popular destinations for Chinese investment, which grew from $17 billion in 2005 to almost $130 billion last year, according to the BBC.

Zhang Shengjun, an international politics professor with Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times that as Britain and China have no fundamental conflicts, the British leader is perceptive to see China's rising strength and its important role in international affairs.

"It definitely presents more benefits than disadvantages to push forward Sino-UK ties," said Zhang, noting that China and Britain boast bright prospects in their cooperation given their high interdependence in trade and investment.

But Kerry Brown, executive director of the University of Sydney's China Studies Center, told the Global Times that Cameron's expectations this time may be too high.

"So far in the UK, Chinese large-scale investment has a very limited history, and no real track record. So there are always doubts about whether Chinese investors can really operate easily in a place they have never really worked much in before. I think this will be an incremental process," said Brown.

"Within five years, Chinese investment will be more common and better known," he added. 

After meeting with Li, Cameron also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and top legislator Zhang Dejiang, and attended the UK-China Business Summit.

"The advances in the China-UK relationship will play a leading role in Europe and help drive forward China's ties with the EU," Zhang said.

Before his departure to China, the prime minister wrote an article on Chinese weekly magazine Caixin and declared a boost to EU-China ties as "Britain is uniquely placed to make the case for deepening the EU's trade and investment relationship with China."

Cameron reiterated his ambition on Monday, saying "I've said to Premier Li that I will champion an EU-China trade deal with as much determination as I'm championing the EU-US trade deal."

The EU is China's biggest export destination, while China is the EU's second largest export market.

"Britain has been boasting about its edge in this regard as it is one of the three major countries within the EU," Wu Yikang, a vice chairman of the Chinese Society of European Studies, told the Global Times, noting that this can in turn boost the UK's economic development.

Such a deal would deliver a sizeable economic reward with initial analysis suggesting it could be worth up to 1.8 billion pounds every year to the UK, according to a press release posted on the website of Cameron's office.

Cameron is scheduled to arrive in Shanghai on Monday evening and visit Hangzhou and Chengdu, before heading back to Britain.

Agencies contributed to this story