Charles isn't attending the state banquet in Buckingham Palace later Tuesday. Royal officials say it wasn't a snub and that Charles was focusing on private talks with Xi.

19.40 Hong Kong time: President Xi Jinping has arrived at Buckingham Palace in style – in a gilded carriage drawn by white horses.

The royal coach drove up the wide thoroughfare of the Mall, which was lined with British and Chinese flags, and by hundreds of well-wishers and counter-protesters.

Demonstrators from human rights and pro-Tibet groups jostled with Xi well-wishers, who far outnumbered them and whose chants of “China! China!” drowned out their rivals.

A small but noisy group of human rights and pro-Tibet protesters chanted and waved banners at Xi as he passed them in the carriage.

They shouted and waved Tibetan flags with banners reading “Don’t trade away human rights” and “China: Buying UK’s silence on Tibet” as Xi and Queen Elizabeth II rode past in the closed ceremonial carriage.

The group of around 80 people was hugely outnumbered by spectators waving Chinese flags and kept well back from the processional route up to the palace by a large police presence. The activists included backers of Falun Gong, the spiritual sect banned as a cult in China.

Xi is being feted by the royal family and leading politicians during the trip this week, which Prime Minister David Cameron hopes will cement Britain’s lucrative place as China’s closest friend in the West.

Cameron has said he will not duck sensitive issues like human rights during the visit. “There is nothing off the table in our discussions with the Chinese,” his spokeswoman said.

The trip has also ruffled feathers among some of Britain’s traditional allies, such as the United States, where Xi’s visit last month was tainted by friction over cybertheft and Beijing’s moves in Asian maritime disputes.

Talon Li, a Chinese finance student at Greenwich University, said he had arrived at 5.30am with some classmates to welcome Xi and support closer ties between the two countries.

“It’s great,” he said. “Britain and China will really help each other. They should stay friends. Every British and Chinese person can be friends.”

19.30 Hong Kong time: Multinational steel-making firm Tata Steel has announced plans to cut 1,200 jobs in Britain, underscoring the damage caused by cheap Chinese imports and throwing a shroud over the first day of a state visit by President Xi Jinping designed to usher in a “golden era” of relations between the two countries.

The announcement of lay-offs in northeast England and Scotland flatly blames the job losses on a “flood of cheap imports, particularly from China,” together with a strong pound and high electricity costs. Although the lay-offs have been rumoured for days, the timing of the announcement – coming on the first day of Xi’s visit – seemed certain to win maximum attention.

19.20 Hong Kong time: The Chinese state visit has opened with military pomp – a genre at which both Britain and China excel.

President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan have been greeted by Queen Elizabeth II, her husband Prince Philip and dignitaries including Prime Minister David Cameron at the Horse Guards parade ground in central London.

The Chinese leader was welcomed with a 41-gun artillery salute before inspecting an honour guard of troops from the Grenadier Guards in scarlet tunics and bearskin hats.

Later, the British monarch and her guests will take a carriage ride along the flag-lined Mall to Buckingham Palace, about 1km away.

Hundreds of people lined the route ahead of time, with pro-China demonstrators waving red flags outnumbering protesters from human rights and pro-Tibet groups.

16.25 Hong Kong time: Supporters of President Xi Jinping are gathering in London for a gala arrival ceremony to mark the official start of his state visit.

Chinese and British flags lined the route where the procession will take place, with some dancing in the street with a dragon costume.

Others wore T-shirts with “I (Heart) China,” with half of the heart filled in with part of the Chinese flag and the other half with part of the Union Jack, and small Chinese flags painted on their cheeks.

Xi is to receive a formal welcoming ceremony and a carriage ride to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday before he addresses both houses of Parliament. Xi will be a guest of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip.

His visit is expected to spark some protests by those who question closer ties to China because of its human rights record.

Xi is also expected to meet Prince Charles Tuesday and to attend a palace banquet.

15.30 Hong Kong time: Chinese President Xi Jinping will address Britain’s Parliament on the first full day of a state visit including a ceremonial carriage ride and a dinner at Buckingham Palace.

The British government has rejected accusations it is pandering to China to secure investment during a visit that is expected to lead to 30 billion pounds (HK$359 billion) in trade deals – including a key role in building nuclear power plants in Britain.

Besides longstanding concerns about human rights, Prime Minister David Cameron is under pressure to raise the issue of China selling steel at a loss on world markets. British steel companies are in crisis – with 1,200 lay-offs expected Tuesday at multinational steel-making firm Tata Steel – just weeks after 2,200 jobs were lost at Sahaviriya Steel Industries’ plant in northeast England.