China's PM Wen Jiabao set to sign £1bn UK trade deal
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao in trade talks at No 10
(40 minutes later)
British business hopes to sign deals worth more than £1bn when the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets David Cameron at Downing Street later.
David Cameron is holding talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Downing Street focused on boosting trade links.
Mr Wen, who is on a three-day visit to the UK, has already said he wants to welcome more UK products to China.
British firms hope to sign deals worth more than £1bn during Premier Wen's three day UK visit and get more access for exports across China.
On Sunday he visited the Longbridge MG car plant, where he faced a small human rights protest.
But the UK PM is expected to stress that respect for human rights under the rule of law is an essential pre-requisite for increased UK investment.
Downing Street said there was potential to create more jobs and investment opportunities for British businesses.
Wen Jiabao faced a small protest during a visit to the MG car plant on Sunday.
The two leaders are expected to sign an agreement to help UK companies work with China's regional cities, in architecture, civil engineering and research and development.
The UK government was said to have been encouraged by the recent release from custody of Nobel Prize winning artist Ai Wei Wei and other dissidents but wanted the Chinese authorities to do more to allow freedom of expression.
British poultry farmers are being allowed to export to China and the visit is expected to see agreements reached for the supply of pigs.
Trade gap
'Rapid rise'
During the talks, the two leaders are expected to sign an agreement to help UK companies get greater access to Chinese markets in architecture, civil engineering and research and development.
Chancellor George Osborne and Foreign Secretary William Hague are due to join Mr Cameron for the talks and Mr Wen is accompanied by other senior members of the Chinese government.
In other areas, a ban on British poultry exports to China in place since a case of avian flu in 2007 is expected to be lifted while agreements will be signed to allow more pigs and pig meat to be sold to China.
They are also likely to discuss improving cultural and educational relationships between China and the UK and global issues such as international security and climate change.
The two men are also likely to discuss improving cultural and educational relationships between China and the UK - building upon the large number of Chinese students at British universities - and global issues such as international security and climate change.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "China's rapid economic rise is good news for the UK. It means more money flowing into our economies and has the potential to create more jobs and investment opportunities for British business at home and in China.
No 10 is looking for a significant increase in two-way trade between the UK and China by 2015.
"The summit will be an opportunity to tap that potential and to continue to work closely with China to find global solutions to a range of issues from climate change to global security."
But the deals set to be announced on Monday will go only a very small way towards narrowing the huge trade gap with China.
It follows Mr Wen's visit to Longbridge and to Stratford-Upon-Avon - the Chinese premier is a lifelong fan of William Shakespeare.
British exports have increased by 20% since Mr Cameron led a major business delegation to Beijing last November and No 10 hopes to see an agreement to enable British business to branch out beyond Beijing and Shanghai into fast-growing regional cities.
He is also believed to be leading a Chinese bid for work on the HS2 high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham.
Premier Wen told the BBC on Sunday that he wanted to make it easier for British firms to export goods to China.
'Partners for growth'
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says Downing Street sees the summit as an opportunity to cement UK-China relations as "partners for growth."
He says the target is £100bn worth of bilateral trade by 2015.
The deals set to be announced on Monday will go some small way towards narrowing the trade gap with China.
British exports have increased by 20% since Mr Cameron was in Beijing last November.
Our correspondent says Mr Cameron hopes to see an agreement to enable British business to branch out beyond Beijing and Shanghai into fast-growing regional cities.
There are also plans to establish a new "people-to-people dialogue" on a broad range of cultural matters.
But concerns about human rights in China will inevitably come up too, with Britain stressing that respect for human rights under the rule of law is an essential pre-requisite for China's long-term prosperity and stability.
