Chinese President Xi Jinping will embark on his first state visit to the UK next week at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II. The trip is also the first by a Chinese top leader in 10 years since former president Hu Jintao's visit in 2005.
Xi, during his first official visit as Chinese president to the Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium last year, said that it is necessary for China and Europe to build four bridges of peace, growth, reform and progress of civilization.
It has already been about a year since Xi put forward these concepts. Therefore, it is highly likely that Xi will try to solidify and reify these abstract ideas by carrying out a series of activities and projects in his upcoming visit to London.
It is highly likely that the two sides will discuss the 50 billion pounds ($76.87 billion) High Speed 2 (HS2) railway project. Earlier, UK Chancellor George Osborne opened bidding for 11.8 billion pounds of contracts to construct the HS2 rail line.
Linking London to Birmingham, the first leg of the HS2 is set to begin its construction work in 2017. The high speed rail network is initiated to boost the economies of the north and the midlands.
In bidding for the project, Chinese firms have to compete against Japanese, French and other European railway enterprises. Beijing has the unique advantage of being cost effective in the competition. Meanwhile, the low price does not come at the cost of quality. Chinese high speed railway technology, which has been developed for years, leads the field in many ways. Although it is hard to estimate whether the Downing Street will sign the HS2 deal with Beijing during Xi's visit, it is certain that this trip will push forward China's bid.
Apart from the high speed rail project, Xi is expected to discuss cooperative programs in nuclear power.
The Downing Street has adopted an open-door policy toward Beijing's nuclear investment. Earlier, Osborne voiced his support for China's participation in the construction of the nuclear plant Hinkley Point C.
Cooperating with Paris, which may take responsibility for the nuclear equipment, Beijing is encouraged to invest in the construction work.
If this realizes, it will be the first time that Beijing has invested in the nuclear industry in the West. There are also reports that a Beijing-designed reactor may be built at an Essex site in the near future. Cooperation between China and the UK, which previously focused on trade, has moved to infrastructure. Nuclear cooperation will witness a boost.
It is also worth noting that Xi has been welcomed to the prime ministerial country residence, the Chequers. The country retreat is an ideal place for light-hearted and informal Xi-Cameron meeting. It seems that it has already become routine for Chinese top leaders to have casual talks with their Western counterparts.
There is no doubt that China and the UK will witness warmer ties following Xi's visit. UK Prime Minister David Cameron, unlike his predecessors, has played a very active role in promoting London's relationship with Beijing. He conveyed goodwill to China on different occasions. Cameron's government regards the China-UK relationship highly as well as with Osborne claiming that the UK wants to be "China's best partner in the West."
London's pursuit of warmer ties has hit the mark, attracting a large amount of investment from China. The UK is China's No. 1 investment destination in the EU as well as the second largest trading partner.
In turn, China is the UK's fourth largest trading partner. Mutual investment is soaring in recent years. It is not exaggerating to say that the UK, compared with other European countries, is one of China's best friends.
Perceived as the golden year in China-UK relations, 2015 marks the beginning of the second decade of the China-UK comprehensive strategic partnership. While mutual cooperation is all-round with trade, finance and energy, collaboration on investment is a highlight of China-UK relation. Xi's upcoming visit will deepen and expand bilateral cooperation for a win-win result.
The author is a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn.