David Cameron has arrived in China at the start of a three day trip that aims to boost trade with the world's second largest economy.

Cameron touched down at Beijing's Capital Airport early in the morning and was greeted on the tarmac by Chinese officials.

Ahead of his trip Cameron said he was aiming to double bilateral trade with China to more than £60 billion a year by 2015.

Cameron, who is making his first official visit to China since taking office in May, said he wanted British exports to China to account for around £20 billion of that sum.

Cameron will focus on fostering trade ties during his stay in China but he said the two countries wanted to work together to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent conflagration in North Korea.

He said he was also keen to pursue dialogue on human rights.

The recent awarding of the Nobel Prize to jailed Chinese political dissident Liu Xiaobo has infuriated China, which urged European nations to denounce the title. Britain has called for Liu to be released.

Cameron is heading Britain's biggest ever trade delegation to China, including more than 40 business leaders seeking deals to fill order books while the government cuts spending at home.

Chancellor the Exchequer George Osborne, who arrived a day ahead of Cameron, met with China's Vice Premier Wang Qishan on Tuesday morning for financial talks in Beijing.