Chinese Premier Li Keqiang accompanies David Cameron to view an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony inside the Great Hall of the People.
China’s leadership has held out the prospect of the Far Eastern economic giant investing in the controversial HS2 rail project and a new generation of nuclear power stations in the UK.
Speaking after talks with David Cameron on the first day of the Prime Minister’s visit to China, Premier Li Keqiang said the two sides had agreed to “push for breakthroughs” on nuclear power and high speed rail.
Mr Cameron declared his intention to champion a free trade agreement between the European Union and China, which he believes could be worth tens of billions of pounds a year with a potential £1.8 billion boost for the UK alone.
He accused EU states which are resisting the proposal out of fear that their markets will be flooded with cheap imports of trying to shut China off behind a “bamboo curtain” of trade barriers.
The two men stood alongside one another to make statements to reporters after their talks in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, but did not take questions.
Mr Li and Mr Cameron also announced that they had agreed a £200 million joint innovation and research fund to foster scientific collaborations.
