Britain’s Theresa May lauds ties with China in Lunar New Year video
China invests more in Britain than any other European nation, prime minister says, and number of mainland tourists has doubled in five years
British Prime Minister Theresa May offered Lunar New Year greetings in a video posted on her Twitter page on the weekend, heralding what she said would be a year of blossoming ties between China and Britain.
“What a year it is set to be, particularly, for the relationship between Britain and China,” May said in the clip, capping it with a festive greeting in Putonghua.
Fresh from her trip to Washington last week as the first international leader to meet newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump, May emphasised the strength of Sino-British trade ties.
“We receive more Chinese investment than any other major European country,” May said. “The number of Chinese tourists has doubled in five years.”
President Xi Jinping’s visit to Britain in late 2015 paved the way for £40 billion (HK$384 billion) in deals between the two countries, including the controversial Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project. China also chose London as a key offshore market to issue yuan bonds and Britain joined the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
