Britain must promote science and technology, or risk trailing behind China's economic surge, Gordon Brown will warn today.

The chancellor is at the start of his first visit to the Asian power.

He will visit Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen to witness the boom which he believes will dominate the world's economy over the coming decades.

Tonight he will pay tribute to China "as a major economic player stabilising the world economy", highlighting that, unlike many, he sees the nation's rise as an opportunity, not a threat.