PM in bid to woo Chinese investment in HS2

The Prime Minister made the pledge during talks in Beijing with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, who expressed an interest in putting Chinese money behind the project which will see a new line built north from London to Birmingham before continuing north in a Y-shape to Manchester and new stations at Meadowhall and Leeds.

Mr Cameron revealed the commitment while answering questions from students at Shanghai’s Jiao Tong university.

He said: “My Government has taken a very clear view that the countries that will succeed in the future are the countries with the most modern infrastructure.

“We think we have a lot to learn from China in this regard because of the success of your high-speed rail.

“I said to your President and Prime Minister yesterday that, just as we welcome Chinese investment into nuclear power and other infrastructure, so there will be very open competition to provide the infrastructure for our networks, so we welcome Chinese investment into that as well.”

The second day of Mr Cameron’s visit to China was devoted to business, as the PM welcomed the announcement of an £80m investment in the manufacture of black London taxis in Coventry by Chinese car firm Geely and hailed a treaty which will allow easier access for UK films to cinemas in a country which is opening new screens at a rate of seven a day.

Addressing a business lunch in Shanghai, Mr Cameron said his message to Chinese companies was: “If you are investing in Britain, invest more. If you are thinking of investing in Britain, come and find us. You will get a warm welcome.”

Culture Secretary Maria Miller yesterday launched a campaign to increase Chinese visits to the UK to 650,000 a year by 2020 in Shanghai.

Organised by VisitBritain, the China Welcome campaign, if successful, will mean Chinese visits will be worth nearly £1.1bn a year to the UK economy by 2020.

Virgin Atlantic Airways and the John Lewis Partnership are among those taking part.