Chinese President Xi Jinping prepared to address Britain's Parliament and dine with Queen Elizabeth II today as he began a state visit that is intended to cement close economic ties between the two countries - but risks being overshadowed by concerns over Beijing's growing economic clout in Britain.
Britain has laid on dollops of traditional pomp for the Chinese leader, whose visit opens with a ceremonial greeting by Queen Elizabeth II and a carriage ride to Buckingham Palace, where Xi and wife Peng Liyuan will stay during the four-day trip.
Tucked just off his route, lined with Chinese and British flags, will be rival groups of demonstrators - some there to give Xi a warm welcome, others to protest human rights abuses.
Britain's Conservative-led government has been courting China, the world's second-largest economy, for years. When Xi's predecessor, Hu Jintao, paid a state visit to Britain in 2005, the countries announced USD 1.3 billion in trade deals. This time, Britain said the nations would sign USD 46 billion in business agreements.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said the visit heralds a "golden era" between the two countries. But some British politicians, businesspeople and trade unionists are alarmed by growing Chinese investment in key sectors of the British economy.
China is set to build a new nuclear power plant in southwest England, and Treasury chief George Osborne has struck deals he says will make London's financial district a bridge between China and Western markets. Last month he announced an agreement for the People's Bank of China to issue renminbi-denominated short-term bonds in London - the first time this has been done outside China.
The deals have sparked accusations Britain is pandering to China to secure investment. Opposition politicians are urging Prime Minister David Cameron to raise China's human rights record in his several meetings with Xi during the four- day visit.
Cameron is also under pressure to raise the issue of China selling steel at a loss on world markets.
