LONDON

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first official visit to the U.K. got underway Tuesday amid human rights protests and concerns over the impact of cheap Chinese steel on British industry.

The visit was hailed as an “important moment” between the two countries by Prime Minister David Cameron as Britain seeks to forge deeper economic ties with Beijing.

In one of the most lavish welcoming ceremonies seen in recent years for a visiting head of state, Xi was escorted with a guard of honor to Horse Guards Parade in central London, where he met Queen Elizabeth II.

The two then travelled together in a horse-drawn state coach to the Queen’s residence at Buckingham Palace, where the Chinese president will stay during his four-day visit.

Britain’s show of grandeur came as ministers hoped to land mutual trade and investment deals worth as much as 30 billion pounds ($46.4 billion).

Xi’s supporters gathered on either side of The Mall, the main processional route to the palace, joined by demonstrators protesting China’s human rights record.

Some carried banners in Chinese and English with slogans such as “Rights over revenue”, “People before profit” and “Free Ilham Tohti”, the last one referring to an Uighur academic who is serving a life sentence in China on charges of inciting separatism.

Amnesty International’s Harriet Garland, who was among demonstrators, said they wanted Cameron to publicly highlight China’s human rights record during the visit.

She told Anadolu Agency: “We've seen 245 lawyers rounded up over the last three months. These are human rights lawyers who are defending people against state abuses. They might be involved in the tainted milk scandal that you might remember from a few years ago or defending people like Ilham Tothi.

“These lawyers have been rounded up, lots of them missing in custody and Amnesty wants Cameron to raise those issues and ask where is Wang Yu, one of the lawyers who is missing, in particular.”

The visit came as thousands of British steelworkers were laid off in job losses blamed partially on cheap Chinese imports. Cameron has promised to raise the issue with Xi.

Speaking before Xi arrived in London, a spokeswoman for Cameron’s office said “nothing is off the table” when it came to talks between the leaders.

Xi was expected to address both houses of parliament later Tuesday.