 British PM wants more 'political opening' in China: speech Beijing (AFP) Nov 10, 2010 - British Prime Minister David Cameron is to say that he wants "greater political opening" in China in a speech Wednesday at the end of a two-day visit, according to excerpts released by his office. "The rise in economic freedom in China in recent years has been hugely beneficial to China and to the world," Cameron was to say in the speech at Peking University. "I hope that in time this will lead to a greater political opening." The speech at the prestigious university, set to begin at 3:00 pm (0700 GMT), is Cameron's final engagement of a two-day trade trip to China that included meetings with Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao. Cameron is the first Western leader to visit China since the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded a month ago to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, a move that angered the country's Communist rulers. The British prime minister has faced pressure throughout his visit, which aims to secure billions of dollars of trade deals, to take a stand on human rights in cases including that of Liu. Cameron insisted that his comments did not stem from a sense of "moral superiority." |
Cameron -- travelling with Britain's largest-ever delegation of bosses and ministers to China -- wanted to focus on doubling trade with the world's second largest economy and taking their trade relations "to a new level."
By far the biggest deal announced Tuesday was worth 1.2 billion dollars between Rolls-Royce and China Eastern Airlines Corp under which the British group will provide jet engines to power 16 Airbus A330 aircraft.
Facing pressure to challenge Chinese leaders on rights, Cameron said he was not for "lecturing and hectoring" Beijing.
But it is expected that Cameron will raise the case of jailed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo before he leaves China Wednesday.
Cameron and Wen had a "general discussion" on human rights in a meeting Tuesday, British officials said, highlighting that Wen had welcomed the two countries' discussions on the subject.
China defended its human rights record, with foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei telling reporters at a regular briefing that the country's citizens today "are enjoying more extensive rights and freedoms."
"This is a fact that is there for everyone to see," he said.
Cameron is the first Western leader to visit China since dissident Liu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 8 -- an honour hailed in the West but condemned by Beijing as tantamount to "encouraging crime".
The lawyer who heads the firm that represents Liu, Mo Shaoping, told AFP Tuesday that he had been prevented from boarding a flight out of China, saying the Nobel connection was "definitely" behind the decision.
On the eve of Cameron's visit, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, an outspoken government critic who was placed under house arrest last week, added that Western leaders on trade trips to China "must insist on human rights issues".
Countries including Britain have said they will not heed a Chinese call for Western diplomats to steer clear of the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in December.
Cameron is travelling with 43 bosses from major British companies and four government ministers on his first official visit after taking power in May.
He said in an article for the Wall Street Journal that he expected to see "new contracts worth billions of dollars" signed during his two days in Beijing, which come ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Seoul starting Thursday.
His longer-term target is to double the level of trade in goods and services between Britain and China by 2015, from last year's 51.8 billion dollars, although it is thought there has been no specific discussion on targets with China.
Cameron's government is searching for new sources of economic growth after unveiling the deepest public sector spending cuts in decades last month.
His ministers are battling to tackle a record deficit of 154.7 billion pounds (249.3 billion dollars).
Earlier deals signed include a 45-million-pound, five-year agreement for British companies to export breeding pigs to China and the construction of 50 new English-language schools in China by Britain's Pearson.
In a bid to highlight the opportunities for British companies in China, Cameron's first visit of the two-day trip was to a supermarket run by Tesco, the world's third largest retailer, in south Beijing.
The British premier will meet Hu and attend a business summit on Wednesday before heading to South Korea.
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