It is this kind of success that many of the more than 40 other business leaders, part of the visiting delegation, are keen to replicate.

British Prime Minister David Cameron (left) leaves a Tesco store, his first stop after arriving in Beijing on Tuesday.

Cameron, who is also accompanied by four ministers (Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Business Secretary Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne and Education Secretary Michael Gove), stated before leaving London that the mission of his two-day visit to China, his first since he took office, was to boost trade between the two nations.

The prime minister said he plans to more than double British exports to China over the next five years from their current level of 7.7 billion pounds to 18.5 billion pounds by 2015.

A number of deals had already been announced, including measures to boost sales of Scotch whisky and allow the import of breeding pigs into China. But the highlight on Tuesday was a $1.2-billion tie-up inked by China Eastern Airlines and Rolls-Royce for 16 Airbus 330-200 jet engines.

The signing was witnessed by Cameron, who met Premier Wen Jiabao for afternoon talks at the Great Hall of the People to discuss ways to boost trade.

Beijing is expecting London to expand cooperation in the fields of high-end manufacturing, innovation industry, finance service, energy saving and environmental protection, said Wen during the meeting. He also urged Britain to further release the restrictions on high-tech exports to China, a move that would be conducive to more balanced and sustainable bilateral trade growth.