LONDON (AFP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Britain for a state visit between Oct 20 and Oct 23, Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Monday (Sept 28).

Mr Xi will be accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan and the couple will stay in Queen Elizabeth II's residence.

Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative government is seeking to boost Chinese investment in Britain and the two countries are expected to seal a major nuclear energy agreement during the visit.

Finance Minister George Osborne also visited China earlier this month calling for closer business ties with the world's second-largest economy, despite its slowing growth and stock market volatility.

Mr Osborne's trip was criticised by human-rights groups for including a visit to the violence-wracked region of Xinjiang, while Chinese state-run media praised him.

The last state visit to Britain from China was by then President Hu Jintao in 2005.

Mr Cameron's meeting with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in 2012 provoked anger in Beijing.

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip paid a state visit to China in 1986.

Their grandson Prince William went to China in March of this year.