Prince William (L), Duke of Cambridge, meets President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 2. (Photo : Reuters)
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that he looks forward to making a state visit to the U.K. later this year at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II, a gesture which observers see as a sign of warming ties between the two countries, during his meeting with Britain’s visiting Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge.
"I look forward to meeting British leaders during the visit to jointly plan out the future of Sino-U.K. relations," Xi said to the prince after being given the official invite by William during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People.
President Xi is expected to go to London later this year that could include a stay at the Buckingham Palace.
"Over many years the British royal family has shown interest in and support for the China-Britain relationship and members of the royal family have done a lot and positively contributed to exchanges and cooperation between our two countries," Xi added.
Prince William, who is on the second leg of his seven-day tour of the Far East, told Xi that he looks forward to the rest of his trip, which includes a visit to Shanghai and to an elephant sanctuary in the southwestern province of Yunnan.
"It's been a long interest of mine for many years to come and visit China," he said.
The Duke's visit is seen as an indication of U.K.'s increasing interest in China and for further improving bilateral relations, Tian Dewen, a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times newspaper on Tuesday.
"China also gave him a higher-than-normal reception, which shows the considerable emphasis Beijing places on Sino-British ties," said Tian.
Xi also highlighted the cooperation between U.K. and China in finance, nuclear power, and high-speed railways, and noting that bilateral trade has surpassed $80 billion with Britain being a major destination for Chinese investment.
In turn, Prince William said that he is ready to bolster relations between the two countries, with particular interest in the younger generation.
The Duke also asked Xi's interest in soccer--the Chinese president is an avid football fan--and stated his desire to see more Chinese players play in the English Premier League.
