Li Keqiang granted meeting with Queen Elizabeth during British visit

Premier Li Keqiang will meet Queen Elizabeth when he visits Britain next week, an unusual meeting that observers say shows how aware China has become of its world status.

Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Chao announced the royal meeting in Beijing yesterday. An earlier report in The Times of London said the trip would be in jeopardy unless the royal meeting was on the agenda.

Analysts declined to speculate on the report, noting some other non-heads of state had also met the queen. But they agreed the encounter suggested a significant agreement between the two countries.

"Such an audience is politically significant and the confirmation of the meeting suggests an important political agreement between the two nations," said Tian Dewen , a researcher in European studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese politics and director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, said: "It just shows how aware China is now of its status and prestige, so that it can demand the protocol treatment it desires."

But Brown said the Chinese must be aware of the queen's limited political influence.