Chinese and British national flags are seen along the Mall towards Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, Oct. 17, 2015. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- As the backbone of China-Britain relations, the two countries' economic, trade and financial cooperation has witnessed rapid development in recent years.
Following are some facts and figures about the increasingly strengthening economic and financial ties between the two countries:
-- Britain is China's second-largest trading partner and No. 2 investment destination in the European Union, while China is Britain's fourth-largest trading partner.
This is an digitalized photo featuring the earth and the full name of the AIIB. (Xinhua)
-- In 2014, transportation equipment and precious metal accounted for more than 50 percent of British exports to China, while labor-intensive products, such as textiles, toys and furniture, were featured heavily in Chinese exports to Britain.
-- Britain is the first major Western country to apply for full membership of the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
File photo of the renminbi, the Chinese currency. (Xinhua)
-- Britain is a leading offshore RMB trading center after Hong Kong. It is also the first Western country to issue RMB sovereign bonds.
-- London's RMB overall trading volumes more than doubled in 2014 than in 2013, with average daily volumes reaching 61.5 billion U.S. dollars, nearly six times as large as those reported in the first survey in 2011.
