Whilst for the most part, the reaction to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s arrival in London earlier today was pleasant, protesters felt that the dragon-dancer and firecracker reception was not the correct approach. As the dignitary arrived outside the Chinese Embassy following an economic consultation with British politicians, several members of a demonstrating ’Free Tibet’ group scaled barriers in an attempt to approach him; police intervened and five of the group were arrested and later released back into the crowd.

Mr. Wen chose to pay no attention to the placards and shouts as he entered the building, and the British Government responded in kind. Though the China-Tibet controversy has been on the world stage for quite some time now, British officials limited the discussion of human rights to a 45 minute meeting and concentrated on the economic issues at hand.

The three day visit to England is one of several stops on the Chinese Premier’s European tour this year, during which he attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, the EU headquarters in Brussels, and several other European countries. France, whose leader in late 2008 angered China by meeting with the Dalai Lama, was not on the list of countries visited.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in January released a framework outlining relations with China over the next five years which can be found in PDF format.

Though the brief addresses all facets of international relations including human rights, with regards to the economy he states that “China is now vital to restoring and maintaining global economic stability”. This sentiment could very well explain Britain’s reluctance to acknowledge the enraged protesters, or at the very least relegate them to the back bench.

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