George Osborne To Relax China Visa Rules

George Osborne says he intends to "streamline and simplify" the visa application process for thousands of Chinese visitors.

To Beijing live and I'll speak to the Chancellor himself. And Chancellor, forgive me, we talk first of all about these visa restrictions being lifted. The reason I'm doing so is that I suppose in a way you are giving a message out there that Britain is open to all circle in terms of treat and intends to jar with what we are getting through on the poll we have run. Explain your stance to me.

Well there's a big difference, Amen, between people on holiday that a Chinese tourist to come to expense money in a British hotel or in Btitish restaurants, and visits to tourist attractions and the liken shops, and then goes back to China, or a Chinese business ... comes to Britain and does a deal to creat lots of jobs in Britain and then goes back to China, and immigration. I think they're very different things. Immigration is people who come permanently to live in Britain. What I have seen clear is among them that we need to get immigration down. The immigration has fallen by a third in the short period. And we've been in office. And one of the things Britain has to do is not to rely on the immigration for its economic success. We need to go and make our own way in the world. And that's what this trip to China is all about.

Yeah. You're all right. You are doing very hard work. And we'll talk about that more in a moment. But I'm looking at references, the front page of the Daily Mail today which says Slash Benefits for European Migrants. And this call comes from Boris Johnson amongst other people. And it shows that in the past few years the number of EU migrants who found a job, living in Britain, living off benefits has risen to more than 600,000, the equivalent of a city, the size of Glassgope. So my point is, you're right there and you are draming up jobs, you are draming up investment for Britain, what to keep, to keep all these people in the job, to get them a job and say: yeah, come for other parts of Europe and I will go and do hard work and get you the job.

Well, no, I don't accept that. Look, we inherited a situation from the Labour government when they signed well all these, treaties which allowed these new countries to join European Union just for people to come to Britain. There were no controls on the boarders. We have got a grip on that situation, and ...... the whole government, have imposed limits on immigration, brought immigration down by a third, got a real control now. But, of course, these countries got to create jobs in its own right. And that's why we need to trade with the rest of the world and get investment from the rest of the world. This trip to China just arranged for 16,000 jobs be created in Manchester through a big investment from a Chinese company. I think that is the better direction we've been, that is what our economic benefits about. Britain turning a corner, fixing its onw economic problems, making things that the rest of the world wants to buy, and by the way, fixing its welfare system. So that the long term unemployed don't just have a life on benefits with nothing expected in return. But they are expected to work, or they are expected to get the training they need to get them back into work. So I think, given our ongoing plan, our immigration plan, from the ..., is very much in the goal we want five years of telling you.

So you will be able to leave China with contracts signed, commitments given and jobs in the bag.

Yeah, absolutely. Jobs in the bag because we'll get Chinese investment in Britain. And above all, we'll also be making sure that the things that Britain is good at making, aircraft wings, and aeroengines, and cars like Jaguar Land Rover, bomber suiticals, and luxury brands, and indeed, television and film, for example, Downton Abbey is watched by 160 million in China which is more than double the number of people live in the whole of UK. All those things are made by British people and British workforces. And that's great and that's all about Britain earning its way in the world, turning a corner after all the problems we've been through over recent years because we've got a clear economic plan that says Britain is gonna make things the rest of the world wants to buy.

I've been listening to your messages and what you have to say. And we vote a dot, you couldn't have been more accommodating to Chinese people. Do you worry that you come across may be a bit too desperate to please? Do they know it?

No. I think this is a relationship between two great nations, very very acient civilizations with long and proud histories. And we are doing businesses together. We are taking next big step together, Britain and China, to create jobs and investment in China for the Chinese people and government investment in Britain as well. And it's a relationship of equals because we are both people who wanna shape the future of the world, the future of the world accommodate both nations wanna do that. And I think there's a lot of mutual respect.

Yeah. I wanna by China, preconceptions of people may have of China, in previous year, certainly China may have meant high volume, high turnover, low quality and you know, even the Downton figures that you were quoting there, many people that we know live in China they watch it, well, shall we say, not legitimately via stations and that sort of thing. What about the China of today? What would you say about that?

Well, one of my things gonna do this week is to change British perceptions about China, thins of the ways old describing. You know I think there's a view that sometimes the China is a big sweatshop on the banks of the ... River, just turning out cheap manufacture goods. But actually the China of today has some of the world's largest internet companies, does some of the most advanced hightech engineering, develops some of the world's leading medicines. I don't if you can see it behind me, but I'm standing on the top of an incredibly featured state building built, by the way, to the designs of a British shock ... practice, right in the middle of Beijing. But this is about the future China. Future of China is changing dramatically even in the last few years. And I think if we in Britain don't understand that we don't appreciate that, then we will miss out. And I want us to be part of China's success. I don't see China as a threat to us. I see it as a great opportunity because there are many millions of people we can sell British goods and services to.

And you are happy the way the week is going so far, Chancellor?

Yeah, it's been a good operating just started yesterday. But I'll go by formal talks with the Chinese government tonight and tomorrow morning. And I'm travelling to these enormous cities in China and I'll say some of them bigger than many of the cities we have in the UK, like Shenzhen and Guangzhou. To see some of this future in China, some of this, China that is part of the ....., of couse to see how British companies are making the best of it. And that's what's exciting. You know, the British shall really successful there. And also the Chinese, look at the UK, they see a country is getting exact together. And they wanna invest in the UK. So from both countries' points of view, that's a win-win.