It was bustling and colorful along The Mall on Tuesday as supporters and protesters lined up along the street to see the carriage procession of President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan.

The Chinese leader, who arrived in London for a four-day state visit on Monday night, patrolled the streets in a gold carriage as he made his way from House Guards Parade to Buckingham Palace.

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President Xi and Peng were officially welcomed by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburg Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace, where a banquet is being hosted to mark their historic visit later in the day.

Meanwhile, President Xi will address British Lords and lawmakers. He will also meet other members of the royal family and hold a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron.

This is the first time a Chinese leader is visiting Britain in about a decade. The last visit to London by a Chinese head of state was made by ex-President Hu Jintao in 2005.

Since that visit, the relationship between both countries has progressed considerably - with the UK vying to be the largest offshore trading hub for the renminbi. During President Xi's visit, both countries are expected to sign deals worth up to £30 billion pounds (over 290 billion yuan) in several areas of mutual interest, including nuclear power, education, aerospace, finance, health, industries, technology and retail.

Critics have accused the British government of kowtowing to China in order to strengthen their mutual bond and secure investment deals from the latter. The chairman of APO Worldwide's Chinese operations James McGregor has compared the attitude of the British government toward China with that of a "panting puppy."

"China does not respect people that suck up to him. I think England is going to rue the day they did this," he said.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has however downplayed these concerns. "I don't think we are naïve. It's very much in our national interest to engage with China but we do so with our eyes very open," he said.

Hammond also censured experts who are demanding that British authorities press the Chinese leader over the flooding of cheap steel into the market from China, which is weakening the UK's steel industry. He said while the government will try to protect the industry in a sensible way, it will not "build a wall" around it.

"There is a world surplus in the steel industry, a global surplus, and steel prices have come down very sharply over the last year. That is a big problem for steel producers in this country. But it isn't only the Chinese. There are surpluses being produced around the world," he said.

Thousands of jobs have been cut in steel plants across the UK already, and there are fears that this is just the beginning of the crisis. On Tuesday, Tata Steel confirmed that it plans to lay off about 1200 employees in a bid to restructure amid the global falling steel prices.

On Monday, in response to criticisms that British leaders will overlook human rights concerns in China during Xi's visit, a statement from 10 Downing Street noted that "nothing is off the table."

"By developing a strong and engaged approach based on a constructive engagement we are able to raise issues on which we differ, frankly, and to do so with mutual respect," a spokeswoman said.

Nonetheless, critics believe the issue of human rights and steel prices will feature only in passing during the discussions between President Xi and British officials.

TagsPresident Xi Jinping Britain Visit, Peng Liyuan, China-Britain, Xi Jinping UK