(《泰晤士報》報道說，中國方面一直拖到本周二才宣佈李克強將在下周訪問英國 )
英國《泰晤士報》獨家披露，中國總理李克強下周訪問英國，英國女王成為一場中英秘密外交較勁的籌碼。
報道說，雖然英國外交人員表示中英雙方對李克強訪問的行程安排「洽談愉快」，但該報得知談判過程困難艱辛，中方還一度直接威脅取消訪問。
據了解，並非國家元首的李克強在主要是商貿訪問的英國行程中，硬是要求與女王見面，甚至揚言見不到面就要取消訪問。
該報記者查證英國外交人員是否真有其事？不具名的政府消息來源透露說，「中方很難協商。」
中國的戰術似乎奏效，李克強在英國的三天訪問中將會與女王見面，也會與英國首相卡梅倫見面。
中國官員還要求外交人員查明李克強偕同夫人程虹與卡梅倫夫婦見面時，卡梅倫夫人會穿著何種服裝。
《泰晤士報》的記者說，李克強求見女王的威脅顯示出中英關係越來越不平衡，同時也將英國不願失去巨額投資的絕望感表露無遺。
在《泰晤士報》的這篇報道見報之後，英國其他報紙也在網站上發表相關報道，並引述《泰晤士報》為其消息來源。
Chinese PM demands audience with Queen on visit to Britain
Chinese officials threatened to cancel a senior leader’s visit to the UK next week unless the prime minister was granted an audience with the Queen
The Chinese prime minister threatened to scrap an upcoming visit to the UK unless he was granted an audience with the Queen, it has been claimed.
Li Keqiang insisted on meeting Her Majesty during a three-day trip that is due to start on Tuesday and issued a “direct threat of cancellation” unless that wish was granted, The Times reported on Thursday.
British officials see Mr Li’s visit as a crucial opportunity to strengthen relations between the two countries, particularly in the wake of an 18-month diplomatic freeze imposed by China following a 2012 meeting between David Cameron and the Dalai Lama.
Chinese and British officials are expected to address “a wide range of bilateral issues, including trade, investment, commercial opportunities, energy and cultural ties” during the visit, a Downing Street spokesperson said earlier this week.
However, in the lead up to Mr Li’s visit Chinese diplomats threatened to scrap the visit, telling British officials the proposed meeting with the Queen was a “deal-breaker”, the newspaper reported.
London appears to have acquiesced to Beijing’s demands. Mr Li will meet with the Queen during his time in the UK.
“The Chinese are hard negotiators,” a government source said.
In an unusual twist, Chinese officials also pressed British diplomats “to find out what sort of dress Samantha Cameron is likely to be wearing when Mr Li and his wife meet the Camerons,” The Times reported.
China’s insistence that their premier should meet the Queen is the second recent example of an increasingly assertive Beijing making forceful demands regarding its leaders’ overseas trips.
In February, Chinese diplomats were reported to have pressured their German counterparts to arrange a visit to Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial during a visit from Xi Jinping, the president.
China’s desire to focus on the Holocaust was seen as an attempt to embarrass and attack Japan over its actions during World War Two.
German officials refused to organise such a visit for president Xi but informed Chinese diplomats that their president “was, of course, welcome to visit World War II memorials on his own time”.
