Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday he was fully confident that the trade volume between China and the United Kingdom could reach US$15 billion in three to five years.

"Maybe it is a conservative figure,'' said Wen during a meeting with British entrepreneurs.

He said that trade co-operation between China and Britain has great potential.

Sino-British economic and trade relations, which already have a good development momentum, will have a brighter future, he said.

Bilateral trade volume was US$11.4 billion last year, reaching US$5 billion by May 2003, an increase of 16.3 per cent from the previous year. By the end of 2002, the UK had invested in 3,406 projects in China, with US$10.7 billion actually put into use, ranking it as the largest investor in China among European Union members.

During yesterday's meeting with visiting Prime Minister Tony Blair, Wen said China welcomed British investment in central and western China.

Blair, echoing Wen's prospects on bilateral ties, said that his country is willing to continue to enhance co-operation with China in various areas, including economics and trade.

In a separate meeting between Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong and British Minister of State for International Trade Mike O'Brien, Ma pointed out that Chinese investment in Britain is still quite limited and the Chinese Government is encouraging more Chinese enterprises to invest overseas.

O'Brien said that at present more and more British entrepreneurs are showing a strong interest in business opportunities in China, expressing confidence about the prospect of bilateral co-operation in trade, telecommunications, transportation and energy.

As one of the fruits of Blair's visit to China, the two sides witnessed a ceremony of a contract signing on the establishment of the Qingdao Qianwan Container Terminal Co., Ltd.

According to the contract, three world shipping giants, A.P. Moller Maersk Group of Denmark, P&O of Britain, and the China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company will jointly invest US$887 million to revamp its Qianwan container dock into the largest in China.

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