Prince William feeds Ranran the elephant a carrot at the Asian Elephant Rehabilitation Sanctuary, March 4, 2015. Ranran was found injured at a river near the sanctuary and rescued on July 7, 2005. [Photo/Weibo]

Prince William's next port of call was a somewhat unusual one; a wildlife protection area in Xishuangbanna, in the far south of Yunnan. The prince has always had a keen interest in wildlife and conservation issues, and China, with its great diversity of wildlife, plays an important role in the protection of endangered species. This part of the visit, where the prince made a rare public speech, provided an uncontroversial topic for discussion between the two sides, while the attendant publicity will raise the profile of the issue and of China's varied wildlife.

This visit can play a useful role in restoring the balance of U.K.-China relations after one or two bumpy patches in the last few months; as the former colonial power in Hong Kong, Britain's role in recent discontents in the territory has come under critical scrutiny. Prince William did not visit Hong Kong on this trip, to ensure that no suspicion arises over his and Britain's intentions. The avoidance of political friction is absolutely essential to a royal visit; so far this has been successful, as the prince has combined his China visit with a tour of Japan, which is not always easy to achieve. In Japan he carefully avoided political issues in favour of cultural and humanitarian ones, as it also included a visit to the scene of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, where he expressed sympathy and emphasised the importance of civil nuclear safety.

This visit shows how Britain can derive advantage, in the sense of boosting international goodwill, from showcasing our quirky and rather archaic constitutional system, in which the head of state is completely detached from the government. Prince William demonstrates the twofold nature of this advantage; firstly, in Western countries, governments are subject to regular change, and each change may bring about a change in policy, whereas what the monarchy stands for remains absolutely consistent. Thus Prince William's role in maintaining close relations with China is based on extremely stable foundations. Secondly, as a young man, the prince represents the future as well as the past, and we can hope that the friendly relations he builds this week in China can last for a good half century.

The writer is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/timcollard.htm

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