BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- China and Britain have witnessed substantial development of bilateral relations, said Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, here on Friday.

    Wu made the remarks here at a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the Great Hall of the People.

    He said dialogue and negotiation mechanisms between the two had worked well. China and Britain had seen rapid growth in mutual trade and investment, as well as fruitful cooperation in such fields as finance, technology, education and culture.

    The two shared interests in a wider range of issues since the economic globalization, and held the same view in active engagement in international economic cooperation, and the opposition to trade protectionism, Wu said.

    He called for more practical bilateral cooperation in all areas, and urged the two to work together in international affairs, push for appropriate settlement of important regional issues, and make contributions to the interest of the two peoples and to the peace and stability of the world.

    Wu said the NPC attached importance to the exchanges and cooperation with the British parliament. He hoped the two sides would increase exchanges to promote mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples, so as to push for the growth of Sino-British relations.

    Brown said Sino-British ties were becoming strong. The two shared a wide range of interests and the deepening of mutual cooperation would bring not only benefits to the two peoples, but also a positive influence to the world.

    Britain is willing to work together with China to expand cooperation in trade, investment, finance, science, technology, environmental protection and other areas, and strengthen dialogue and coordination in international and regional affairs and in reform of international mechanism, he said.

    Brown said Britain was ready to increase exchanges with China in legislative areas, especially making more exchanges of young politicians, in an effort to promote bilateral relations.