This week the United Kingdom will be subject to a visit from Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Party of China, his first since he started his presidency.

Britain’s “visionary and strategic choice” – as Xi put it – to become Beijing’s strongest ally in the West, within 10 years, could bring further strength to the UK’s outsourcing industry, prompting far more foreign direct investment and potentially increasing the use of UK-based service providers by Asian companies.

The Guardian reported that roughly 150 deals will be sealed this week alone, in sectors such as healthcare, aircraft manufacturing and energy. The financial backing needed to kick-start the Hinkley Point nuclear reactor may also be found.

When tackling this subject, the FT points out that Osborne currently has a poor record when it comes to infrastructure investment. Since 2010 capital expenditure on infrastructure projects has fallen 5.4 per cent, at a time when extra spending in this area is crucial to unlocking Britain’s outsourcing potential and increasing national productivity. With the government reluctant to commit more taxpayer money to this cause during its current term, contributions will probably have to come from organisations based in foreign nations.

As a provider of services, China is one of the UK’s biggest competitors. In terms of expansion, China is way ahead. In the time it would take to build Heathrow’s third runway (assuming the project doesn’t fall through), KPMG estimates that China will have built 17 new airports of its own.

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