China's Wen in Britain to boost trade ties (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao toured Britain on Sunday, in a European trip aimed at cementing trade links, as Bejing freed high-profile human rights activist Hu Jia in a move seen as defusing tensions.

Wen arrived in the central English city of Birmingham late on Saturday as news emerged that Hu, one of China's most prominent prisoners of conscience, was to be released.

Beijing is seeking to gain a greater foothold in Europe, but has faced fierce criticism from the West over its human rights record -- and in particular a recent crackdown on dissidents.

Hu, 37, was jailed on subversion charges in April 2008 after angering the ruling Communist Party through years of bold campaigning for civil rights, the environment and AIDS sufferers.

His release followed that of outspoken Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei last week, but Hu looked likely to be similarly muzzled along with other top dissidents.

Britain's Foreign Office has yet to give any official reaction to the release of Hu, who spent more than three years in prison.

However, EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton welcomed the news -- but her spokesman stressed the bloc's demands for Beijing to ensure full freedoms are respected.

And Germany said it will press human rights issues at its first joint cabinet meeting with China later this week, including the conditions of Ai's release, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.

London has also been among international critics, with Foreign Secretary William Hague repeatedly speaking out against Ai's detention and the crackdown against activists.

Wen visited England on Sunday before holding talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday and attending the UK-China summit -- which is an annual event during which major investment deals will be announced.

The Chinese premier is on a three-country tour of Europe with 13 ministers and a large business delegation.

He visited the MG car plant in Longbridge, Birmingham, which was for many years a symbol of British manufacturing dominance but is now owned by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, which is China's largest automaker.

Wen will later indulge his interest in Shakespeare with a visit to the bard's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he will be treated to a short performance.

The premier, who began his trip in Hungary, will leave Britain on Monday for Germany, where he will underline his support for eurozone economies that have been rocked by a debt crisis, with Greece on the brink of a second bailout.

Around the time Wen arrived in England late Saturday, China released Hu after he completed a sentence for subversion, and he returned to his home outside Beijing early Sunday morning, his wife said in a Twitter posting.

"On a sleepless night, Hu Jia arrived home at 2:30 am. Peaceful, very happy. Need to rest for awhile. Thanks to you all," Zeng Jinyan, also an activist, wrote on her Twitter account.

Hu's release came several days after Ai was freed on bail after nearly three months in police custody.

Foreign Secretary William Hague had given Ai's release only a cautious welcome, saying that "serious questions" remained about the circumstances of his detention and legal status.

It is Wen's second Europe tour in just nine months, highlighting a shift in China's interest towards investing in the continent after having ploughed money in recent years into Africa, Australia, Latin America and the United States.

Beijing has vowed to be a long term investor in the European debt market and has repeatedly expressed its confidence in the eurozone, and has invested an increasing portion of its foreign exchange reserves in euro-denominated assets.

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China's Wen, Cameron sign trade deals worth £1.4bn (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and British Prime Minister David Cameron signed trade deals worth ￡1.4 billion at a summit on Monday as Wen batted away questions about his country's rights record.

The two men shook hands for the cameras before holding talks with senior officials from both sides at Downing Street, the second formal meeting of the two leaders following Cameron's visit to Beijing in November.

"I am delighted that today's summit has seen new deals signed worth ￡1.4 billion ($2.2 billion or 1.6 billion euros)," the British leader told reporters at a joint press conference afterwards.

As part of wide-ranging discussions, Cameron said he had discussed China's human rights record with Wen, who flew into Britain late Saturday as part of a European tour just as Beijing released high-profile rights activist Hu Jia.

But Wen said there should not be "finger-wagging" at China over human rights.

The men also discussed the ongoing NATO military operations in Libya, in which Britain is playing a lead role.

In a rare comment, Wen said China was talking to both sides because the conflict would only be resolved by Libyans themselves, adding: "Foreign troops may be able to win war in a place, but they can hardly win peace."

Since taking office in May last year, Cameron's coalition government has made boosting trade with China a priority, and wants to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion a year by 2015.

Britain is scrambling to catch up with European rivals Germany and France, the latter of which secured contracts worth $20 billion for French firms last year.

Wen is due to visit Germany after he leaves Britain later Monday.

The new British deals concern the reopening of the Chinese poultry market for British exports, which was halted after a bird flu outbreak in Britain, and a deal to supply breeding pigs to China.

A small crowd of protesters gathered outside Downing Street for the talks, brandishing posters reading "Cameron and Wen: human rights before trade" and "Free Tibet", while a similarly sized pro-China demonstration gathered nearby.

Asked about China's rights record, Cameron said: "We should show each other respect. But we're very clear that political and economic development should go hand in hand, that one supports the other."

But Wen batted off any implied criticism.

"On human rights, China and the UK should respect each other, respect the facts, treat each other as equals, engage in more co-operation than finger-pointing and resolve our differences through dialogue," he said.

The release of 37-year-old activist Hu, jailed on subversion charges in April 2008, was widely seen as a move to defuse tensions over human rights, and followed the release on bail last week of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

Wen is in Britain as part of a three-nation European tour intended in part to shore up support for the eurozone. On the first leg in Hungary, he agreed to buy government bonds, and said this showed China's confidence in the currency.

Also during the visit, China's central bank chief, Zhou Xiaochuan, voiced support for French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde's bid to lead the International Monetary Fund, in Beijing's first public statement on the issue.

On his first full day in Britain on Sunday, Wen visited a car plant in Longbridge, Birmingham, central England, which is owned by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), China's largest automaker.

He launched the first new MG car to be made in 15 years, the MG6 model, hailing it as a potent symbol of friendship between London and Beijing.

He also visited Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he watched a brief performance from Hamlet. On Monday, he said the bard was one of the "greatest geniuses in our world".

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