China, Britain raise curtain of 'golden time' in ties with $60b deals

Sharing one umbrella in typical London rain, Xi and Britain's Prince William on Wednesday viewed a James Bond sports car from Britain's iconic automaker Aston Martin that will be equipped with an entertainment system with Chinese technology.

"China and Britain are both cultural powers. We should enhance creative cultural exchanges and improve mutual understanding between our two peoples through cultural products," said Xi.

As China's economic growth has entered a "new normal", the Chinese government attaches great importance to innovation and is eager to deepen and broaden innovation cooperation with Britain.

"We will enhance macro regulation in creative ways to improve the quality and efficiency of economic development and address the lack of balance, coordination and stainability in the economy. We will put more emphasis on innovation and consumption-driven growth," Xi said in the interview with Reuters.

Earlier Wednesday, Xi visited Data Science Institute and the Hamlyn Center at the prestigious Imperial College London.

The Chinese president encouraged the students to contribute to bilateral cooperation in science and technology for the two countries' common prosperity.

Having a busy schedule Thursday, Xi will address the opening ceremony of an annual meeting of Confucius Institutes in Britain, meet Cameron in the country residence of Chequers and fly to Manchester at night.