This shows that Hu's current trip is scheduled to discuss how to promote bilateral relations, the two permanent United Nations (UN) Security Council members are to energetically boost multilateral cooperation.

Among member countries of the European Union (EU), Britain has the largest volume of investment in China. It is one of China's most important trading partners in Europe, the volume of bilateral trade reached US$19.7 billion last year. Cooperation between the two countries in economic, political and various other fields undoubtedly has immense potential, but bilateral relations should not be limited to the development of the two countries themselves.

Along with the in-depth development of economic globalization, a series of problems including international terrorism, cross-boundary crimes, poverty, environment and avian influenzas have been on the increase. These problems can hardly be resolved by reliance on one or several countries. They can be effectively tackled only through the concerted efforts of the international community and by aid of a multilateral mechanism. Perhaps even US hardliners, the neo-conservatives, now have to admit this. China and Britain are both big countries in their respective regions and the two sides are respectively permanent UN Security Council members, so they have the responsibilities and obligations to maintain the development momentum of bilateral cooperation in political, economic and various other fields, while at the same time give serious considerations to what they can do together on multilateral occasions.

It is not only necessary but also feasible for China and Britain to strengthen multilateral cooperation.

On the one hand, China has ever-stronger political wishes to participate in regional and global affairs. In September this year, President Hu Jintao made a solemn promise at the meeting in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations: The Chinese government supports multilateralism.

In his speech delivered at the meeting, he explicitly pointed out: "Only by strengthening multilateral cooperation, particularly enhancing the role of the UN and safeguarding the authority of the Security Council, is it possible to effectively cope with mounting global threats and challenges and to truly realize universal security." China supports the UN and other international organizations in playing pivotal roles in coping with terrorism and other non-traditional security problems.

On the other hand, Britain holds a unique position in the international arena. It not only possesses the status of being a permanent UN Security Council member, but is also a major member of the EU, NATO the G8, the British Commonwealth and other important international organizations and institutions. Since World War II, Britain and the United States have all along been maintaining "special relations". It is precisely these conditions that have guaranteed that Britain can play a super-strength role" in the international arena (words of former British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd).

It should be stressed here that although Britain joined the US-started Iraq war in 2003, it is not the "fellow traveler" of the Bush administration's unilateralism. Blair insists on the need to cope with present-day global threats through "the international system based on the United Nations, rule of law and multilateral cooperation", at the same time, however, he believes that "working together with the United States is the "only effective way that can influence the United States". This is exactly where he differs from Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder.

Apart from the fact that both sides adopt the attitude of firm support for multilateralism, the reason why China and Britain can effectively carry out multilateral cooperation is because both sides attach great importance to the other party's international role. Prime Minister Blair has repeatedly indicated that China's development is an opportunity for the world and not a threat, "it not only helps improve the livelihood of the 1.3 billion people, but also facilitates the development of various countries around the world".

This year Chinese leaders have repeatedly accepted Britain's invitations to attend international conferences including the G8 and dialogs among leaders of five major developing countries, the London Conference on the Palestinian issue as well as dialogs on international climate change, this shows that China also pays great attention to British international influence and is willing to have communication and coordination with Britain on major regional and global issues. We have every reason to believe that multilateral cooperation stressed and actively launched by China and Britain will definitely exert a very important role in world peace and development.

Written by Feng Zhongping, head of the European Office of the Research Institute of the China Modern International Relations, this article is published on the front page of People's Daily Overseas Edition November 9 and translated by People's Daily Online