China pushes OBOR project ahead of British PM Theresa May's visit

Ahead of British PM Theresa May's visit, China's foreign ministry said the Belt and Road initiative (OBOR) has "huge potential"and "broad prospects for China and Britain."

May will be visiting China on Wednesday at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. May's three-day visit is likely to touch on several trade issues.

"The British government and Prime Minister May expressed their support of the Belt and Road Initiative several times. They sent British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond as a special envoy to the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing in May last year," China's foreign affairs spokesman said.

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China's OBOR project also known as the new silk road is aimed at connecting trade routes through road and rail from Asia to Europe.

"The Belt and Road is a major area where China and Britain can display each other's advantages in cooperation and realize mutual benefit and win-win," the spokesman added.

The OBOR project is a major foreign initiative headed by President Xi which is also enshrined in the Chinese constitution. Several countries including Pakistan, Maldives, and Nepal have already signed-up to the agreement with China keen to enlist Afghanistan.

India has opposed the project as it says some routes pass through the disputed region in Kashmir.

In May last year, China had held a high-profile event in Beijing to advertise the OBOR project with leaders of several countries at the event including Russian president Putin, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Managing director of IMF Christine Lagarde, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim among others.