Mr Li arrived in Britain on Monday for the three-day visit, which is an official rather than a state occasion.

 

Mr Li has said he hopes the trip will help to "change misperceptions（知觉错误） and misgivings²" about his country.

 

High-level relations between the UK and China were frozen for a time but, after a change of leadership at the top of the Chinese Communist Party in March 2013, Mr Cameron visited the country in December.

 

 

The Home Office marked the start of Mr Li's visit by announcing a new visa service, to be offered to all Chinese visitors to the UK following a pilot programme for tour operators last year.

 

Business and tourism visitors will be able to use a single application to process their visas for Britain as well as for a Schengen visa, which allows access to 26 European countries.

 

The move comes after Chinese authorities complained about the difficulties in travelling to the UK compared with other European countries - where one visa allows people to visit almost all the other EU member states.

 

Announcing the changes, Home Secretary Theresa May said the number of Chinese visitors to Britain was "soaring".

 

Mr Li, who has been accompanied by a large business delegation³, is expected to formally agree commercial deals and investments worth up to £18bn in areas such as energy and finance.

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