The death of an industry(01 of08)
Open Image ModalChina is accused of exacerbating the meltdown of Britain's steel industry as major producer Tata Steel has announced it will cut 1,200 jobs in Scunthorpe and Scotland. Cheap Chinese steel is flooding the UK market and forcing British plants out of business. Up to 15,000 workers in total risk losing their livelihoods, and Gareth Stace, director of UK Steel, branded the 'dumping' of Chinese steel into the UK market "unfair" and called for the government to review it.
China produces half the world's 1.6bn tonnes of steel every year and the country's slowing economy has made it sell aggressively to Europe. As a result the price of slab steel has fallen 45% in just 12 months, from £330 a tonne to about £180. (credit:Ian Forsyth via Getty Images)
Making a killing(02 of08)
Open Image ModalChina is one of the world’s largest consumers of wildlife products such as ivory, tiger body parts and rhino horn - all used for medicine and decoration. An report from the International Fund For Animal Welfare in 2011 revealed "rampant illegal ivory trading" and has led to crackdowns. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A royal request(03 of08)
Open Image ModalEven Prince William has stepped in to urge people in China to stop buying illegal animal parts, in a speech which will be seen by 100 million people on the Chinese television network CCTV1.
He said: "If we buy illegal wildlife products, we are contributing to the extinction of a whole species. I am absolutely convinced that China can become a global leader in the protection of wildlife. Your influence in the world means you could change the face of conservation in this century. (credit:JOHN STILLWELL via Getty Images)
Human rights(04 of08)
Open Image ModalCampaigners led by Amnesty International have called on David Cameron to address 'grave concerns' over China's human rights record - including repression of ethnic minorities, detaining human rights lawyers and restrictions on freedom of worship. "We urge you to speak out on human rights in a principled, forceful, and specific way – in both public and private," it said.
A spokesperson for Cameron said the issue would be on the agenda in talks this week. (credit:PHILIPPE LOPEZ via Getty Images)
Flimsy promises?(05 of08)
Open Image ModalHong Kong activist Joshua Wong [centre], a student who became the figure head of protests against Chinese plans to intervene in Hong Kong's elections last year, has said David Cameron "could not trust" Chinese assurances on human rights protection that may be made during this week's visit. Wong, 19, also condemned Britain for failing to pressure Beijing over crackdowns of the peaceful protests.
"My message to David Cameron is that China has not kept kept its promise to the people of Hong Kong to deliver universal suffrage," he said in an interview with The Independent, "so how can you trust Mr Xi to keep his word on the trade deals signed this week?" (credit:ISAAC LAWRENCE via Getty Images)
Surveillance fears(06 of08)
Open Image ModalChina could use commercial deals with Britain to spy on companies here, it is feared, after repeated claims it initiates cyber-attacks on other countries. Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike found that there have been "regular" Chinese hacking attempts on American companies in the last three weeks, meaning China may have begun to violate a new cyber agreement with the US almost immediately after making it. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
That special relationship(07 of08)
Open Image ModalOne of the biggest risks of pandering to China, according to Sky's economics editor Ed Conway, is the possibility of damaging our relationship with the US, which has long maintained a more frosty relationship with the country.
"They risk alienating Britain's biggest economic, political and military ally - and not for the first time," Conway writes in The Independent, pointing out that the UK recently shocked the Americans by joining China's 'Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank', a rival to the World Bank. (credit:BEN STANSALL via Getty Images)
Missing medals(08 of08)
Open Image ModalA 60-year campaign by Royal Navy veterans to get medals for a 1949 mission in China’s Yangtze River is being ignored thanks to Cameron's plan not to upset China, The Sun claims.
The HMS Concord destroyer "played a key role in guiding crippled HMS Amethyst away from Chinese guns", the paper says, but its navy men were never given medals. Now, their efforts, backed by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, are being forgotten because the Ministry of Defence doesn't want to cause trouble with Beijing. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)