Britain's allies cry kowtow as Osborne welcomes Xi to London

Traditional allies of Britain are expressing concerns over Finance Minister George Osborne’s increasingly lavish overtures to Beijing as Chinese president Xi Jinping heads to London for a four-day visit, The Financial Times reported. One senior western intelligence officer commented: “The most charitable spin we can put on the current China policy of the British government is to say it is a pure mercantilist, unprincipled, self-serving decision aimed at attracting short-term investment. The big question is whether it actually works.” But Osborne and Prime Minister David Cameron view China as a huge source of investment with the potential to turn northern England into a second global financial hub.