China's President Xi Jinping has hailed a group of businessmen who forged links between China and the UK in the 1950s and called for a new generation of "icebreakers" to follow in their footsteps.

In a message delivered by Ambassador Zheng Zeguang at an online event to celebrate the coming New Year holiday, Xi praised the work of the group who overcame the Cold War divide to create opportunities in both countries.

"Looking back, we will not forget the old generation of friends who made historical contributions to the development of Sino-British relations. Looking ahead, we hope that insightful people and representatives of the business community of both countries will uphold the 'ice-breaking' spirit and continue to expand mutually beneficial cooperation, giving a new contemporary meaning to Sino-British friendship and benefiting both countries and peoples," the message said.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of full diplomatic relations between the UK and China. 

"We should not allow anyone to turn back the wheel of history and deny the common aspirations of our two peoples. We should redouble our efforts to move ahead, so let's stay the course and charge forward. We should be bold like the tiger, blaze a new trail in sharing the opportunities of China's development," Zheng added.

Ice and gold

The original group of "Icebreaker" business people were led by Jack Perry, who went on to found the 48 Club Group. Today the organization, which still works to promote Sino-British ties, is headed by his son, Stephen, who attended the online event.

The UK enjoyed a "golden era" in its relationship with China during the premiership of David Cameron, who welcomed Xi on a state visit to Britain. But the environment has deteriorated significantly since, with both sides imposing sanctions on the other's organizations and officials following disputed claims over human rights violations. 

"It would be very easy for us to turn our backs on each other as too different; to conclude that the gap between us is too great to bridge," Philip Hammond, who served as foreign secretary under Cameron told the event. "But that would be the wrong conclusion and a bad outcome for the two countries."

He said China's contribution to tackling global warming – both through becoming the world's largest producer of renewable power and through developing new technologies – was particularly appreciated. 

John Edwards, the UK's consul general in Shanghai, said that despite political differences, Britain was keen to attract Chinese investment, particularly calling for electric car manufacturers and their supply chains to set up in the UK.

"We are determined to deepen our trading relationship and attract more Chinese investment into the UK in ways that support UK values, national security and our long term economic strength," Edwards said.