Prince Charles and his wife meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan, Oct.20.[Photo/Xinhua]

At the invitation of British Queen Elizabeth II, Chinese President Xi Jinping pays a state visit to Britain on October 19-23. This is the first state visit of a Chinese head of state to Britain in a decade, expected to usher in the "golden age" of the Sino-British relations. 

According to the news from the British royal family, Crown Prince Charles has been actively involved in organizing this visit, and will take advantage of this opportunity to hold a "face to face" conversation with Xi Jinping. Prince Charles and his wife will, on behalf of the Queen, accompany Xi Jinping to attend the welcome ceremony at the Horse Guards Parade, and then the luncheon hosted by the Queen at the palace. They will also host a tea party at the Clarence House to entertain Xi Jinping and his wife.  

Seeing this, the Dalai Lama would keep on sniffling since he just got snubbed in Britain in September. At that time, Dalai’s request of meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron was denied by Downing Street, and even Prince Charles, regarded by the Dalai Lama as the "best friend", avoided meeting him. According to BBC reports, Prince Charles and the Dalai Lama met at Clarence House in 2012, and Dalai Lama claimed that Prince Charles is his "best of friends".
 
Prince Charles was ever one of the supporters of the Dalai Lama. He would severely reprimand each visit of Chinese leaders to Britain, but he would meet with Dalai Lama in private every time the latter went to Britain. However, the prince’s attitude towards China and the Dalai Lama during Xi’s visit to Britain varies greatly from the past. "Prince Charles ever called himself ‘dissident’, but as he is getting closer and closer to the crown, his political words and deeds have changed greatly," the British Daily Mail reported. 

"Nations have no permanent friends or enemies; they only have permanent interests," said British Prime Minister Palmerston in the 19th century. After being carried forward by Churchill, it has been the fundamental principle of the British diplomacy. Britain’s Financial Times commented that establishment of friendship between Britain and China didn’t seem to be only a temporary expedient. In 2012, Cameron met with the Dalai Lama in London, leading to China’s cold shoulder to Britain diplomatically. But after that, the British side made careful arrangements to restore the bilateral relations step by step.
                        
According to the British magazine Spectator, when asked what he would say to Cameron after his request of meeting with the prime minister was denied by Downing Street, the Dalai Lama shouted: "Money, money, money. What’s the matter? Where is the morality?" Dalai Lama, don’t sweat blood. Even your "best of friends" did so, why not chew the cud?