Country house to add English tradition to Xi, Cameron meeting

The front entrance to Chequers, the Prime Minister's official country residence, is seen near Ellesborough in southern England, Britain May 25, 2015. [Photo/CFP]

Chinese President Xi Jinping next week will become the latest state leader to be welcomed to Chequers, a tranquil country house in Britain that has hosted foreign dignitaries since becoming an official retreat for prime ministers in 1921, Chinese news website the paper.cn reported.

The neo-Gothic-style estate 50 km northwest of London in Buckinghamshire is believed to be a light-hearted supplement to the buttoned-up Downing Street meeting between British PM David Cameron and Xi, who will start his four-day visit on Oct 19 with wife Peng Liyuan.

Like its US counterpart Camp David, Chequers witnessed historic moments with the people who stayed there. Wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill was informed of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while dinning at the mansion with American ambassador John Winant and special envoy Averell Harriman.

Xi will join the likes of former US presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, all of whom have been invited to the country retreat.

Xi's busy schedule will take him to London and Manchester.

Aside from meeting with Cameron on the agenda, the Chinese president will receive a grand welcome, including a review of the Blues and Royals cavalry regiment and a black-tie dinner with the royal family in the capital.

In Manchester Xi will visit research and commercial projects.