State visit by Xi Jinping to the United Kingdom

An article by CNN analyst Katie Hunt posits that a key reason for the increase in relations is due in part to Britain's avoidance of raising sensitive political issues such as the Chinese claims in the South China Sea, although she noted that issues such as the Tibetan independence movement could still cause tensions between the two nations.

[2] On 19 October 2015 Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, arrived at Heathrow Airport and stepped off an Air China aircraft.

[3] On 20 October Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh hosted the ceremony to welcome Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the Horse Guards Parade.

Shao Jiang, a survivor of the Tiananmen Square massacre who also had her computer seized and home raided by police while in custody, said that the events reminded her of the repression she experienced in China prior to her exile.

[14] The Falun Gong followers called for former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin, to be brought to justice for the persecution of its practitioners.

[18][19] On 21 October, Xi met with British Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street, where they signed business agreements worth 40 billion pounds.

[22] Xi and Cameron attended the UK-China business summit at Mansion House, where the focus was on investment, infrastructure and innovation.

[26] Peng Liyuan visited Royal Academy of Music with Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

[33] He also witnessed former Manchester City defender Sun Jihai being inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame[34] and took a selfie with Sergio Agüero.

[35] The British officials said that the China-UK business transactions were highly exaggerated and Britain would continue to tightly regulate the nuclear industry.

[36] In May 2016, Queen Elizabeth II was filmed making an unguarded remark that the Chinese "were very rude to the ambassador", and that it was "bad luck" for the Metropolitan police commander Lucy D'Orsi that she had to be responsible for security during the state visit.