LONDON, June 19 (Xinhua) --- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang left here for Greece Thursday after a fruitful visit that included deals worth 30 billion U.S. dollars.
During his four-day trip, Li held in-depth talks with British leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister David Cameron, exchanging views on advancing bilateral ties and practical cooperation.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Britain comprehensive strategic relationship. The two countries pledged to seize the opportunity to lift bilateral relations to a new level.
The Chinese premier also attended a Britain-China Financial Forum, co-chaired a global economic roundtable with Cameron and spoke at a gathering hosted by two prestigious British think tanks, among other engagements.
MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR DEAL
Trade and investment deals were signed between Chinese and British firms in finance, technology, education, energy and infrastructure, after Premier Li met Cameron for their annual summit at Downing Street.
The two leaders pledged to deepen all-round pragmatic cooperation and inclusive development while celebrating the two countries' decade-old comprehensive strategic partnership.
The Chinese premier proposed China and Britain expand two-way trade to reach a target of 100 billion dollars by 2015, constantly consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations, and promote common growth and inclusive development.
He also urged greater cooperation in areas such as high-speed rail, scientific innovation, the green economy, medicine and aviation.
In a joint statement, the two countries agreed to work together to push forward bilateral cooperation in growth, reform and innovation.
Both sides were committed to an open global economy and trade liberalization, and stood ready to expand economic and trade cooperation and promote development in each other's markets, the statement said.
Applauding the comprehensive strategic partnership as an indispensable element of each other's foreign policy agenda, the statement said the two countries agreed to increase high-level visits in order to guide the development of bilateral relations.
Both sides agreed to establish a strategic partnership on infrastructure and committed to working together to support further collaboration between Chinese and British companies on more projects.
China and Britain welcomed cooperation on civil nuclear energy and the signing of a joint statement on civil nuclear power, it said.
On financial cooperation, both sides welcomed a greater role for the Chinese currency RMB in international trade and investment and the establishment of an RMB clearing bank in London, according to the statement.
INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT
Addressing the global economic roundtable Tuesday, Li urged the international community to strive for inclusive development that would achieve healthy growth of the world economy.
Li said, since the outbreak of the global financial crisis, an increasing number of countries had realized the indivisibility of economic growth and employment, and had attached mounting importance to inclusive development.
Only with sustained economic growth and increasing employment could the imbalance between developing and developed countries and within the developing camp be solved and social progress be achieved, he said.
At the gathering, co-hosted by Chatham House and the International Institute for Strategic Studies on Wednesday, Li said China, with a population of 1.3 billion, would foster the largest inclusive development in human history by achieving modernization step by step.
He said China would promote urbanization, integration of urban and rural areas and harmonious regional development.
China would boost sustainable economic development by following a new path of industrialization, pursuing low-carbon and green growth, achieving endogenous growth through innovation and upgrading the economy by improving its quality and efficiency, he told the audience at Mansion House in the City of London.
China would also give the market a decisive role in resource allocation and allow greater play for the role of government to tap private investment potential, and stimulate the initiative and creativity of the market as well as the people, he said.
China would advance a new round of opening-up to create a better environment for domestic and foreign investment, increasingly integrate itself with the rest of the world, and make important contributions to the inclusive development of the world as a whole, Li said.
The visit, Li's first trip to Britain since he took office in March last year, is another major diplomatic endeavor between China and Europe following Chinese President Xi Jinping's Europe tour in late March.
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.neurope.eu |