China’s Minister of Commerce Chen De Ming visited Britain at the end of February 2009 and signed US$2billion of deals. Amongst those was an agreement with Rolls Royce Group to supply aircraft engines to China's HNA Group, the deal was worth US$1.2billion.

British firm, Rolls Royce will supply Trent 700EP engines to power Hong Kong Airlines' new fleet of 20 Airbus A330s, also included in the deal is a long-term service agreement.

The signing was witnessed by British Business Secretary Lord Peter Mandelson who said "This high-profile mission, sent so soon after the China-UK business summit, shows how highly the Chinese value their trade with the UK, and demonstrates their commitment."

HNA is a major shareholder in Hong Kong Airlines. The Group is also the parent company of Hainan Airlines , China's fourth-largest carrier, which is based in the south of the country.

Another deal signed on Friday was a three-year supply contract between luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover, a unit of India's Tata Motors, and Chinese firm SCAS. It is reported that the agreement calls for Jaguar Land Rover to supply 13,000 vehicles to China, bringing some relief to Britain's car industry which has been hard hit by temporary plant closures and job losses due to the recession.

Britain has strengthened its relations with China in the last few years, seeing scope for greater trade and investment ties with China at a time when Europe and the United States are mired in recession.

During Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Britain earlier this month, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain aimed to double exports to China in the next 18 months. Britain exported goods worth 4.6 billion pounds ($6.53 billion) to China in the first 11 months of 2008, but they were dwarfed by imports of 20.7 billion pounds.

Before arriving in London, Chen visited Berlin, where German and Chinese firms signed new business contracts worth more than $10 billion.

Source: Reuters 27 February 2009