David Cameron will cast himself as China’s biggest commercial ally in Europe by backing Beijing’s calls for a free trade deal with the EU in spite of scepticism about China’s readiness to open up its own markets.
The prime minister will today meet Li Keqiang, Chinese premier, in Beijing on the beginning of a three-day visit to the country. He is accompanied by the biggest trade mission Britain has ever sent to China.
His visit is intended to draw a line under a spell of icy relations with Beijing that followed a meeting with the Dalai Lama in 2012. He will use his meeting with Premier Li to back the idea of an EU-China free trade agreement, which Beijing has called for as part of a deal that is aimed at increasing bilateral trade to $1tn by 2020.