18th Jun 2014 05:52
London (Alliance News) - A BP PLC contract worth GBP12 billion to supply China with liquefied natural gas was among a raft of deals signed Tuesday during a visit to London by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.
The deal will see the British energy giant supply the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp for the next 20 years.
Altogether, contracts worth 14 billion pounds were signed between British and Chinese companies, Prime Minister David Cameron said at a joint press conference with Li.
"Ours is truly a partnership for growth, reform and innovation," he said.
Li, who arrived Monday for a three-day visit, said the two countries shared "extensive common interests" and cooperation was "not only important for both countries but also has global significance."
The other deals included an announcement by China Minsheng Investment Corp, China's largest private sector investment group, that it would invest 1.5 billion pounds in opening its European headquarters in London.
TheCityUK, which promotes Britain's financial sector, also signed a memorandum of understanding with China Development Bank Corp (CDB) to encourage the Chinese state-owned bank to lend in Britain and promote trading in the Chinese renminbi.
The agreement was "groundbreaking" and would deepen the relations between financial and professional services in the two countries, according to TheCityUK's chairman, Gerry Grimstone.
"It is another significant milestone on the route towards ensuring that the UK continues to be one of the major hubs for all RMB-denominated business," he said.
CDB president Zheng Zhijie said it was important for the largest foreign lending bank of China to expand its operations in London and it was investigating opportunities to invest in infrastructure.
Bilateral trade between Britain and China has reached record levels, increasing by 8% last year. Britain was also the most popular destination for Chinese investment, raking in 8 billion pounds.
"These figures prove once again that Britain is the most open economy in the EU, the most welcoming to Chinese investment, including in our nuclear industry and our infrastructure, and I'm determined to keep it that way," Cameron said.
Li said he regretted not being able to visit other parts of Britain aside from London, the nation's economic powerhouse, and referred to the economic imbalances between China's eastern and western regions.
"The development imbalance cannot be compared with the UK," he said. "We are more unbalanced, but this imbalance also entails growth potential, so China and the UK should view each other's development as an opportunity."
Earlier in the day, Li met with Queen Elizabeth II at her home in Windsor, just outside London.
His visit, which comes six months after Cameron visited China, was designed to promote economic ties and improve diplomatic relations, which had cooled after Cameron met with the Dalai Lama in 2012.
Asked about British criticism of human rights in China, Li said: "It is prescribed in China's constitution that human rights must be respected and protected in China."
Over the past 30 years, 600 million Chinese had been lifted out of poverty, he added.
"I also believe there are diverse dimensions to the issue of human rights, and countries which are at different stages of development, with different historical and cultural backgrounds, may see this issue of human rights from different perspectives," he said.
After visiting Britain, Li is to travel to Greece.
Copyright dpa
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