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| Tony Blair arrives in Beijing for official visit |
| CCTV.COM 2003-07-21 09:07:19 |
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 British Prime Minister Tony Blair has arrived in Beijing on Sunday evening for a three－day official visit after wrapping up his trip to Japan and South Korea. The Chinese capital is the third stop of the prime minister's week－long Far－east Asian tour. Blair's talks with the Chinese leadership are expected to focus on bilateral ties, the nuclear crisis of the Korean Peninsular and the post－war reconstruction of Iraq.
This is Tony Blair's second visit to China in five years. The British prime minister came to Beijing in 1998, a year after Hong Kong's return to China.
Blair had been expected to visit to China this April, but the plans were shelved while Britain waged war on Iraq and China was in the midst of the SARS outbreak.
When in Beijing, the prime minister is scheduled to meet with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, President Hu Jintao and Central Military Commission Chairman Jiang Zemin. Talks are expected to focus on bilateral ties, trade, post－war Iraq and the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsular.
However, the prime minister's visit has been overshadowed by a domestic strife over the intelligence his government used to justify the Iraq war. The apparent suicide of defense ministry biologist, David Kelly, has caused a political storm over his government's credibility and himself.
Kelly was identified as the probable source of a BBC report alleging that government officials had "sexed up" evidence of Iraq's lethal weapons.
British opposition parties have urged Blair to cut short his Asian trip, but on Saturday the prime minister's spokesman insisted that the prime minister would not do so.
After Beijing, Tony Blair is scheduled to travel to Shanghai and Hong Kong during his three－day visit. Promoting trade is going to be on top of his agenda. But in the meantime, the prime minister will probably have to spend extra effort to put aside his home crisis to focus on business matters.
Britain is China's largest source of European investment and the second largest trade partner in Europe. Bilateral trade exceeded 11 billion US dollars last year. Three months after the war, the prime minister's visit could signal the passing of a diplomatic split between London and Beijing that emerged during the run－up to the war.
See also: Britain's global role
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Editor: Yang Feiyang CCTV.com
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