Chinese media gushes about Xi Jinping visit to Britain

LONDON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Xi Jinping's state visit to Britain was touted as a triumph by China's state media on Tuesday, after Xi traveled with Queen Elizabeth II in her diamond jubilee state coach – and one Chinese newspaper claimed London had rolled out the "reddest carpet for Xi Jinping."

Chinese observers watching the ceremonies could not curb their enthusiasm for the Chinese president's reception in Britain, The Guardian reported.

"This is the royal family! The whole royal family has welcomed President Xi! That has a special meaning!" said Wang Yiwei, a Chinese academic co-hosting a live broadcast on state television CCTV.

The Communist party's Global Times ran a headline that read, "London rolls out the reddest carpet for Xi Jinping," for an article that claimed "Chinese-British relations have never been this good," and that the visit was a "breakthrough," The Telegraph reported.

The editorial also claimed the attitude of the British government "exceeds the past boundaries of China's diplomatic relations with the West", but warned against excessive enthusiasm, pointing out the United States could be an obstacle to better ties.

Despite an ongoing stock market crisis at home, China is moving toward better relations with Britain, for the sake of both their economies.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement released Tuesday the two countries are working to see that more than $46.4 billion in trade and investment deals are completed during the visit. The deals could create more than 3,900 jobs in Britain, according to Cameron.

One deal has taken on a measure of controversy. In a bid to attract Chinese investment, Cameron has invited Beijing to invest in Britain's Northern Powerhouse, a nuclear power project that one critic, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, said would be "dangerous" to invite China to invest, the Financial Times reported.

But other Chinese commentators reveled in Xi's visit, because of its symbolic meaning to Beijing's rival, the United States.

"[The visit sends] a very important signal to the United States...the U.S. can learn a lesson from this," Wang said.