UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband sees his visit to Chongqing as a way of better understanding the changes in China, and said Sino-British ties have gone beyond pure politics and business.
"I think it's important to understand the changes happening in China and big changes between the rural and the urban areas," he said. "That's an important issue in Chongqing."
Asked whether he thought bilateral ties have extended to more areas, Miliband said: "Yes. I think it's into social and environmental and cultural issues, as well as political issues."
The urge to get a feel of Chinese society brought him to Chongqing because he is highly interested in the life of migrant workers' families.
Miliband's visit to a primary school that is designated for migrant workers' kids created a lot of excitement among the students and teachers.
Many of them asked him questions about his life, and they ranged from what kind of films he liked to whether he was a fan of David Beckham.
"I like films without that much violence I don't like him (Beckham) because I am a fan of Arsenal." Miliband answered every question, bringing joy to the children.
He visited a construction site, too, and went to a village to get firsthand knowledge of the living and working conditions of migrant workers before flying to Beijing in the afternoon.
The first two months of this year saw a fast development in Sino-British ties in which Chinese society and culture played a crucial role.
The biggest Chinese festival, China Now, has opened in the UK, aiming to present a complete picture of Chinese society and culture to the people there.
"The UK has a huge amount of interest in Chinese culture and society and Miliband is responding to it," said Sebastian Wood, British Foreign Office's director of Asia Pacific.
Does Miliband's visit mean greater cooperation in social issues? Wood said "definitely... that's what we want to see because this is win-win cooperation".
Source: China Daily
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