China state visit: one chart that shows why the UK wants to court the Chinese

David Cameron has made no secret that he wants to strengthen ties with China

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne meeting with China's Finance Minister Lou Jiwei at the 2015 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Lima, Peru earlier this month (Reuters)

Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, is starting a four-day visit to the UK.

David Cameron has made no secret that he wants to strengthen ties with China by encouraging Chinese investment in UK infrastructure projects such as the Hinkley nuclear power plant.

President Xi told Reuters: "The UK has stated that it will be the Western country that is most open to China. This is a visionary and strategic choice that fully meets Britain's own long-term interest."

This one chart by Statista shows why the UK is so keen to peg its growth to China.

Outside of China and India, economic growth is much slower.

With third-quarter growth at 6.9 per cent of GDP, according to the latest figures, China is still outstripping the rest of the world.

Already, President Xi’s visit has attracted more attention in the UK than it did when he visited the US for the first time in September, and was overshadowed by the Pope.

George Osborne has also put together a brochure of infrastructure projects for the Chinese including a new retail quarter in Sheffield and a new Chinatown in Liverpool.