Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday kicked off an official visit to Britain with the purpose of further boosting bilateral relations and cooperation.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R, front) is welcomed by British Trade and Investment Minister Stephen Green upon his arrival at the airport of Birmingham, Britain, June 25, 2011. Wen arrived here on Saturday on an official visit to Britain. [Huang Jingwen/Xinhua]

In a written speech delivered at the airport of Birmingham, Wen said that 39 years after they established diplomatic relations, the two countries have now forged a comprehensive strategic partnership and an all-dimensional cooperation pattern.

The past decades saw Beijing and London carry out frequent high-level contacts, harvest rich fruits in various cooperation fields, coordinate closely in global and regional affairs and bring tangible benefits to their peoples, he said.

Under the current complex circumstances on the world stage, Wen added, further enhancing communication and cooperation between China and Britain is beneficial not only to the two countries themselves but to the whole world.

The premier said that his current visit is aimed at promoting communication, cooperation and development and that he looks forward to exchanging views with British Prime Minister David Cameron on bilateral cooperation and other issues of common interest.

Wen added that he is confident that his visit will be a great success and will inject new energy into the continuous, steady and healthy development of bilateral relations in the 2nd decade of the 21st century.

Britain is the second leg of Wen's three-nation tour after Hungary. He will also visit Germany.