Chinese Vice-Premier Finishes UK Trade Visit

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We now go to London, where the UK recently hosted a four-day trade visit by Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang. The UK was Li's last stop on a three-country trade visit to Europe.

Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang wrapped up a trade visit to the UK last week.

Last Tuesday, Foreign Secretary William Hague met with the Vice-Premier before attending a banquet together at the Royal Courts of Justice, hosted by the China-Britain Business Council. After the meeting, Hague said they had discussed trade and investment, the G20, Iran and North Korea, as well as human rights.

Vice-Premier Li was accompanied by a 150-member business and political delegation. They signed trade agreements with an estimated value of 2.6 billion pounds. This includes a 10 million pound deal that will see Scottish technology used in Chinese renewable energy plants.

Yet many feel that taking a stance on China's human rights record is more important than establishing cozy business relations with the Chinese regime.

Protestors often follow Chinese leaders closely when they conduct overseas visits, and this visit was no different.

[Stephanie Brigden, Director of Free Tibet, UK]:
"We're here to remind the British government that they need to take a firm position on human rights, in Tibet and in China. And that's not just our position in Free Tibet. We commissioned a survey, in November of last year, and 7 out of 10 British people believe that promoting human rights in Tibet is as important as good trade relations, so if the British government is going to engage with China, they need to respect all the opinions of the British people, even in these difficult economic times."

Andrew Moody, NTD News, London.