Chinese and British national flags are seen along the Mall towards Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, Oct. 17, 2015. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
LONDON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming refers to President Xi Jinping's trip to Britain as a "super state visit." Why?
That is because Xi's visit, the first state visit to Britain by a Chinese president in a decade, will feature many "pluses."
Photo taken on Oct. 14, 2015 shows the Buckingham Palace in London. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
A total of 103 rounds of gun salutes will be fired during the welcoming ceremony, which will be attended by important members of the Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth II, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Wales and Duke of Cambridge, among others. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, will also be invited for an informal lunch and a formal state banquet hosted by the British Monarch.
Chinese and British national flags are hung at the entrance of a building on a street in London, Oct. 19, 2015. (Xinhua/Luo Jun)
British Prime Minister David Cameron will hold official talks with Xi and accompany him to Manchester. In addition, he has also invited Xi and Peng to visit the Chequers Court, the private residence for the head of British government.
China, for its part, has also attached great importance to the visit. Normally, the Chinese president visits several countries in one overseas trip. So Xi's single-country visit to Britain is highly symbolic of the close relations between the two countries.
The outcome of Xi's state visit, Chinese officials say, will be greater than that of any previous Britain visit by a Chinese leader.
