Britain: Cameron irritates Brussels by pushing EU-China trade deal

British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in China saying he would advocate a multi-billion-dollar free trade deal between Beijing and the European Union, stoking tensions with the EU executive which condemned the move as premature.

On a three-day visit with around 100 business people, the largest-ever British mission of its kind, Cameron said Britain was the most open Western country to Chinese investment and was well-placed to take advantage of China's market liberalisation.

"China's transformation is one of the defining facts of our lifetime [...] I see China's rise as an opportunity, not just for the people of this country but for Britain and the world," Cameron told reporters after meeting Premier Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

He cast Britain as far more progressive on trade than other unnamed EU member states in remarks that stirred a growing spat with Brussels over the issue.

"Some in Europe and elsewhere see the world changing and want to shut China off behind a bamboo curtain of trade barriers," said Cameron. "Britain wants to tear those trade barriers down."

His line irritated the European Commission, which is privately understood to oppose such a move on the grounds that it risks flooding the 28-nation bloc with cheap Chinese imports.

"We believe that it is premature at this stage to discuss a free trade agreement with China," Alexandre Polack, a spokesman for the EU executive, told reporters.

Read more:Cameron irritates Brussels by pushing EU-China trade deal | EurActiv