Sunanda K Datta-Ray: The long bridge to China

How Britain is making heroic efforts to upgrade its relationship with China, especially through increased investment in the country

Always with a keen eye on commerce, Adam Smith's nation of shopkeepers recently trotted out its future king to court China. When it comes to salespersons, not many nations can match Queen Elizabeth's grandson, William, Duke of Cambridge, who spent four days in China this week.

During the last royal visit to China in 1986, Prince Philip, who notoriously opens his mouth only to put his foot in it, told some British students they would become "slitty-eyed" if they remained in the country much longer. Faced with an uproar at home, he retorted he didn't see why others should care when the Chinese didn't. The Chinese would be delighted if the current furious wooing results in a nation of "slitty-eyed" Brits.

William's father, Charles, Prince of Wales, who handed over Hong Kong to Jiang Zemin on the Queen's behalf in 1997 afterwards dismissed the Chinese leaders as "appalling old waxworks." Watching the ceremony on Singapore TV, a Chinese colleague asked me if Mountbatten was overcome with emotion like the tearful Chris Patten, Hong Kong's last British governor, when India became independent. He was amazed to learn India invited Mountbatten to continue as head of state.

The ceremony highlighted the contrast between Communist protocol and monarchical simplicity. Charles pulled his speech out of his jacket pocket, read it and put it back. As Jiang walked to the podium with the measured steps of a Manchu emperor, an aide rushed up with the speech, which he laid out on the podium. Jiang read it and walked away, whereupon the aide ran up and collected the speech.

Imperial China knows many governments are angling for its trillion dollar disposable reserves. China's global investment rose from $17 to $130 billion between 2005 and 2012, nearly half the money being invested in power and energy. China's demand for energy is expected to triple by 2030, so countries with abundant natural resources will continue to attract the most money.

If geography were the only determinant, India would be a major destination but India doesn't figure in the top 10 countries where China has invested. Australia heads the list, followed by the US, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Britain, Russia and Venezuela. Although Britain ranks only eighth, the Chinese own great swathes of their country. My breakfast Weetabix is owned by a Chinese company. So is Pizza Express. When I turn on the tap, it's courtesy Chinese-owned Thames Water. China bought shares worth $400 million in Deutsche Bank's London operations.

The planes that fly out of Heathrow airport also owe something to the Chinese: China Investment Corporation paid $700 million for a 10 per cent stake in Heathrow, with a similar holding in Manchester airport. China has stakes in North Sea oil, Barclays Bank, BP and Diageo. Most are minority stakes, but it does have a controlling interest in other household brands besides Weetabix, where China's Bright Foods owns 60 per cent of equity. The Wanda conglomerate owns 92 per cent of Sunseeker boats, while Geely Automobile owns Manganese Bronze, makers of London taxis.

Britain is making heroic efforts to upgrade the relationship, especially through increased investment in China. A study calculated that foreign direct investment from the UK to China totalled nearly £6.7 billion in 2013 and is expected to rise to £26 billion by 2020. Last year, the UK contributed 1 per cent of China's total foreign direct investment. More royal salespersons might push this up to 2 per cent - but of a much larger total - in five years.

No wonder the head of a London school wants Mandarin taught compulsorily. She runs a Confucius Classroom to advise other schools, and gives a Chinese twist to all subjects. Mathematics includes using an abacus and geography means learning about the regions of China. If history is subjected next, we might expect fanciful recreations of past events including the 1962 war.

The new version must explain why Singapore's ethnic Chinese Lee Kuan Yew refused to accept Neville Maxwell's India's China War as a present from China's premier Hua Guofeng. Hua called it "a correct version of the war" but for Lee it was only China's version. "There is another version," he said, "the Indian version."

I can foresee arguments galore as China rewrites history with Britain's full-throated support. But, at least, Dean Acheson's jibe about Britain losing an empire and not finding a role can't apply to British royals. William's sales tour reminds Harry, Andrew, Edward, Anne and all those other cousins that a role awaits them.