The UK and China are expected to sign up to £18bn worth of commercial agreements Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is due to meet the Queen and David Cameron on the first full day of his visit to the UK.Mr Li arrived in Britain on Monday for the three-day visit, which is an official rather than a state occasion.
It is the first UK visit by a Chinese premier since a row in 2012 over the prime minister's meeting with Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
Mr Li has said he hopes the trip will help to "change misperceptions and misgivings" about his country.
But the UK has also said it remains "deeply concerned" about human rights abuses in China.
High-level relations between the UK and China were frozen for a time but, after a change of leadership at the top of the Chinese Communist Party in March 2013, Mr Cameron visited the country in December.
Visa changesThe Home Office marked the start of Mr Li's visit by announcing a new visa service, to be offered to all Chinese visitors to the UK following a pilot programme for tour operators last year.
Business and tourism visitors will be able to use a single application to process their visas for Britain as well as for a Schengen visa, which allows access to 26 European countries.
The move comes after Chinese authorities complained about the difficulties in travelling to the UK compared with other European countries - where one visa allows people to visit almost all the other EU member states.
Announcing the changes, Home Secretary Theresa May said the number of Chinese visitors to Britain was "soaring".
Mr Li, who has been accompanied by a large business delegation, is expected to formally agree commercial deals and investments worth up to £18bn in areas such as energy and finance.
Meat dealNegotiations to end a Chinese ban on imports of British beef and lamb will be announced as Mr Li and Mr Cameron meet in Downing Street.
Restrictions were imposed by China in response to the BSE outbreak in the 1980s but it is expected that formal official-level talks will begin on opening up a market that could be worth up to £120m to the British economy.
The Chinese premier is visiting the UK as part of a tour of European countries.
Campaign group Free Tibet has written to the Queen calling on her not to meet Mr Li.
The letter said such a meeting "does not appear to be in the interests of the monarchy, the United Kingdom, or those resisting oppression across the world".