2015年CRI Chinese President's Visit to UK Expected to Strengthen Ties

 

Dr. Robin¹ Niblett is the Director of Chatham House, a london-based international-affairs think tank.

He says Sino-British relations are currently in the best shape in history.

He attributes it largely to the booming bilateral² trade.

"It is the economics that are driving the quality of the relationship right now. The United Kingdom is on a big push to increase its exports to emerging markets, and the biggest emerging market obviously is China. And the one country with which the UK has really increased its exports in the last five years has been with China, doubled from some seven billion pounds to about 15 billion pounds in this period. So the export relationship is very important."

Dr. Niblett says the UK is seeking more direct investment from China into major UK infrastructure³ projects, covering areas such as energy, airports, and railways.

Besides economic cooperation, Dr. Robin says during the meetings of the two countries' leaders, the issue of climate change is also expected to top the agenda.

"I think we may see some bigger discussions about the climate change negotiations⁴ that will take place in Paris in December, where President Xi and President Obama had made some quite strong announcements. The British government is part of the EU, which is the other part of the triangle in a way on climate change. This could also be a big feature. "

The most important goal, according to Dr. Niblett, is to keep the path of cooperation between the two governments while solving differences by dialogues.

"The message I want to give is that in this visit of Xi Jinping, we will see lots of golden opportunities, win-win economics, but we must remember that underneath⁵ it, are some areas of potential tension that could always pop up in the future. And that both governments, will need to work hard to make sure the win-win is the dominant⁶ part, and the negatives do not slip into it."

President Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, will be hosted at Buckingham Palace, the royal residence in London, during their stay in the UK.

This will mark the first UK state visit for a Chinese leader in a decade since President Hu Jintao visited Britain in 2005.

1 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

2 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

6 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。