British PM arrives in Hangzhou to attend G20 summit

British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives in China's eastern city of Hangzhou to attend the 11th G20 summit, Sept 4, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

HANGZHOU -- British Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in this eastern Chinese city on Sunday for the 11th leaders' meeting of the G20 major economies, her major international summit debut.

At the summit, themed "Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy," Britain is to show it is "open for business as a bold, confident, outward-looking country" and will be a "global leader" on free trade, May said Saturday before leaving for China.

The European country's shock vote in June to leave the European Union (EU), led to the resignation of May's predecessor, David Cameron, and has put Britain's posture on regional integration and globalization in question.

On the sidelines of the two-day G20 summit, May is expected to have a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss bilateral relations and other matters of common concern.

Upon her departure for China, she said "this is a golden era for UK-China relations," and that in Hangzhou, she will talk to Xi "about how we can develop the strategic partnership that we have between the UK and China."

China and Britain can enhance cooperation in a number of fields, from infrastructure investment and international financial framework to cooperation on taxation, anti-corruption and anti-microbial resistance, said Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to Britain.

"Our joint efforts in these areas will be essential in the G20's transition from an organization for crisis control to an institution of long-term governance," he said in a signed article published by Britain's Daily Telegraph on Thursday.

During her stay in Hangzhou, May is also expected to meet with other world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.