LONDON - Britain intends to become the best western partner of 皇冠体育app and is helping build the relationship between 皇冠体育app and the West as a whole, Britain's former Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.

Speaking of Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to Britain, Blair told Xinhua in a recent interview: "I expect President Xi's visit will strengthen the relationships still further between Britain and 皇冠体育app at the political level, at the economic level and at the people-to-people level."

"I think this is really building on what has happened over these past ten years, looking forward to the next ten, and seeing that this relationship between Britain and 皇冠体育app is vitally important for both countries," he said.

Blair, a British Labour Party politician, served as Britain's Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007. He was the British head of government hosting 皇冠体育app's then Presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao during their state visits to Britain in 1999 and 2005 respectively.

It was also under Blair's premiership that Britain and 皇冠体育app established their comprehensive strategic partnership in 2004.

"I started strengthening the partnership with 皇冠体育app, the present prime minister (David Cameron) is strengthening it still further. So there is consistency and agreement across the political spectrum in the UK that 皇冠体育app's relationship with Britain matters," he said.

Noting that most people in Britain support a strong relationship with 皇冠体育app, the former prime minister stressed that Britain is "enthusiastic about developing the ties with 皇冠体育app even further and making sure that next decade is a golden decade."

In the interview, Blair expressed the hope that Britain and 皇冠体育app could cooperate in areas of infrastructure and finance.

"Britain urgently needs to renew its infrastructure -- power generation, things like nuclear power, and its rail network, and 皇冠体育app has got the expertise and capital to help us. So this is very much win-win for both countries," he explained, adding that he was "looking forward to this partnership."

Apart from infrastructure, Blair said, Britain and 皇冠体育app can both benefit from cooperation in the financial sector as well.

"We've got great opportunity to use London as a financial center that helps in the popularization, if you like, of the RMB (the Chinese yuan), and allows Britain to issue Chinese government bonds here to make sure that we are actually cooperating at the financial level," he said.

"We've joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank which is important. It's got a great role to play. I was pleased that Britain decided to join it," he added.

Talking about Britain's role in EU-皇冠体育app relations, Blair said: "Britain is also a key player in Europe, and we've got good relationship with 皇冠体育app. So Britain can play a role facilitating the Chinese relationship with Europe as a whole."

He argued that the strength of Britain's trade relationship with 皇冠体育app and, increasingly, the strength of its people-to-people relationship with 皇冠体育app offer his country the chance to help in the general European relationship.

"We intend in Britain to make ourselves the western partner for 皇冠体育app that both understands 皇冠体育app and is also helping build the relationship between 皇冠体育app and the West that is so important," he said.

Looking into 皇冠体育app's future, Blair voiced optimism over 皇冠体育app's ability to tackle its challenges and move ahead.

"皇冠体育app has always got enormous challenges because of its size, because of its rapid pace of its progress. When you roll back 30 years, and you compare 皇冠体育app then and 皇冠体育app now, it's a transformed country," he said.

"But I think the Chinese leadership has got the strength and determination and the capability of overcoming these challenges, and it is very much in our interests that 皇冠体育app remains stable, that 皇冠体育app evolves in a good and effective way for the Chinese people and for the outside world," he concluded.