British prime minister starts China visit

BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown arrived here early Friday morning for an official visit to China till Sunday, the first since he took office last June.

During his stay in Beijing, Chinese leaders Hu Jintao and Wu Bangguo will meet with him, and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will hold talks with him.

Wen and Brown are expected to have informal discussions with student and citizen representatives at the Renmin University of China, and watch a table tennis game of players from the two countries.

Besides, Brown will attend a Sino-British business summit, and visit the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, and other Olympic venues.

The three-day visit will also take the British prime minister to Shanghai, an economic and financial hub in east China.

Brown said in a written interview with Xinhua prior to his visit that the comprehensive strategic relationship between Britain and China is "better than ever," expressing the willingness to move forward relations with China during the visit.

Currently, China-Britain relations have maintained a good momentum of development with increased high-level exchanges and reinforced strategic mutual trust.

Bilateral trade and economic cooperation has enjoyed continued development with Britain remaining the biggest investor in China among the EU members.

Trade volume between China and Britain was estimated to have reached 40 billion U.S. dollars in 2007.