China And Uk Plan To Build Better Relationship Between Them

China's President Xi Jinping visits London and Manchester this week on a four-day trip that includes a ceremonial gun salute, an address to the UK's Parliament and meetings with three generations of the Royal Family as well as lodging in Buckingham Palace.

The rhetoric shared in advance of the trip has been as warm as the planned welcome.

"The UK has stated that it will be the Western country that is most open to China," Xi told Reuters ahead of his first visit to the country as president.

"This is a visionary and strategic choice that fully meets Britain's own long-term interest."

UK Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking on CCTV, China's state broadcaster, said the visit would mark a "golden era" in the two countries' relationship.