Relations between the UK and China took a significant leap forward with an historic meeting between its President Xi Jinping and the Duke of Cambridge today. President Xi, whose Communist party leadership was once derided by the Prince of Wales as 'appalling old waxworks' warmly shook hands with his son William and heaped praise on the British Royal family. The two men met in the imposing Great Hall of the People - home of the Chinese Congress - where the president highlighted their past interest in his country and told of how they had contributed 'positively' to co-operation between China and UK. He also extended an open invitation to the Queen and her family to come to China, which could pave the way for a visit by the heir to the throne. Scroll down for video . Prince William meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing during his tour . The Duke of Cambridge visited the Forbidden City during his first day in China on what is one of his most important foreign tours . As the two men sat in a large marble clad room, President Xi, speaking through an interpreter, told William: 'The British Royal Family holds great influence not just in the UK but across the world. 'Over the years the Royal Family has shown great interest in, and support for Chinese/UK relations. And members of the Royal Family have done a lot and contributed positively to (the) changes and co-operation between our two countries in areas ranging from trade to environment protection...and cultural exchanges.' He added: 'I know this is Your Royal Highness' first visit to China. In China we have two sayings, first, hearing about something is not as good as seeing it. 'And the second saying is hearing about something 100 times is not the same as seeing it once. 'So I very much welcome your royal highness and other members of the Royal Family to make (a) visit to China and see more parts of China.' The president also passed on his good wishes about William's second child expected next month and 'congratulated' the Duke and Duchess on the imminent birth. He concluded by saying; 'I'm sure your royal highnesses visit to China will be a productive visit and a visit of building friendships, (it will) surely go a long way to developing mutual understanding and friendly ties between China and British people and I would like to wish your visit a great success.' In response William thanked the President 'enormously' for inviting him to the Great Hall of the People and said: 'It's been a long interest of mine, for many years, to come and visit China.' He told the Chinese leader he was going to have an informative few days adding: 'I look forward to as you say strengthening UK/China relations and building things for the future.' William, who is an Aston Villa fan, added: 'I also gather you're quite a football fan, I'm looking forward to learning about China's football!' The Prince - who has left pregnant wife Kate back in Britain - said the Forbidden City is 'beautiful and lovely' He looked relaxed during his day in Beijing, where the Royals hope he can foster good relations with China . Prince William, who is on a week-long tour of the Far East, flew into China last night from Japan for one of the most high-profile – and diplomatically sensitive – tours of his fledgling royal career. With China on course to overtake the United States as the world's largest economy, the UK government is keen to foster positive diplomatic relationships - and William's visit is being seen as a key part of those efforts. Stepping foot for the first time on Chinese soil, the second in line to the throne became the most senior member of the Royal family to visit the country since the Queen nearly 30 years ago. In truth, many had believed that William's father, Prince Charles, would be the first to stake that claim. The Queen's heir has been assiduously courting the Chinese in recent years on behalf of his charities, setting up a number of initiatives in the country, including The Prince's Charities Foundation (China) and an organisation to preserve historic architecture. He has also met with several senior Communist party leaders in the UK. However he has also made no secret of his personal, and deeply held, opposition to Chinese actions in Tibet, regularly welcoming their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama (reviled in Beijing as a dangerous separatist), to Clarence House. The Prince chats with a crowd of well-wishers outside the British Ambassador's official residence in Beijing . William admitted his Chinese is coming along 'slowly', and is mainly limited to greeting 'Ni Hao' The pair have even been photographed holding hands. After taking part in the formal handover of the former British Colony of Hong Kong in 1997 to China, Charles also memorably described the officials taking part in ceremony as 'appalling old waxworks'. Two years later he let it be known he was boycotting a Buckingham Palace banquet in honour of the then visiting president of China, Jiang Zemin. William's grandfather, Prince Philip, also has form in the country. During the Queen's 1986 visit to China he memorably caused enormous offence by telling a group of British students: 'If you stay here much longer, you'll all be slitty eyed.' Following his meeting with the president, William visited the exquisite Forbidden City – the ancient home of China's deposed emperors. The future king toured the former imperial palace – home to emperors and their households for nearly 500 years – on the first full day of his tour of China. Accompanied by Zhang Yaoguang, vice-director of foreign affairs at the Forbidden City and an interpreter, he was given a guided tour of the stunning 15th Century complex in dazzling sunshine. Also present was Barbara Woodward, Britain's new ambassador to China and the first-ever woman in the role and Sajid Javid, Minister for Culture, Media and Sport. They were joined by a large security detail as they crossed a bridge over a semi-frozen moat into the inner courtyard to take in several of the main palaces. William listened intently as his guide described the construction and history of the vast landmark. He said: 'The sheer scale of it is phenomenal.' As he posed for photographs in front of the imposing Hall of Supreme Harmony, he was asked how his Chinese was coming along. He laughed and replied: 'Very slowly.' William thanked the President 'enormously' for inviting him to the Great Hall of the People and said: 'It's been a long interest of mine, for many years, to come and visit China' The president also passed on his good wishes about William's second child expected next month and 'congratulated' the Duke and Duchess on the imminent birth . Responding to the Mandarin greeting Ni Hao Ma, he said: 'Ni Hao. That's about as far as I have got.' The Duke was shown giant bronze urns once used to burn pine-scented incense and fill the courtyard below the palaces with clouds of smoke, giving the impression the Emperor was sitting heaven. He said: 'It must have smelled fantastic.' He paused to admire an ornate throne room in the Hall of Central Harmony, where Emperors from the Ming dynasty onwards received ministers and officials. Above the intricately carved throne, flanked by statues of cranes – the symbol of longevity in China – hangs an imperial motto in ancient Chinese characters. Roughly translated it reads: 'Build yourself up in order to contribute to your nation.' William was told how each of the 'golden bricks' in the floor were baked from highly prized type of mud. Mr Zhang said: 'Unfortunately today we cannot make a replica of the bricks because the quality of soil in China has changed and we don't have the craftsmanship.' William joked: 'That's a shame, you can have them made of gold now.' Admiring the view of ancient temples and palaces on the hill beyond the Forbidden City's 10m-high walls, he also noticed building work taking place across the skyline. He said: 'There is an amazing contrast between the old and the new here.' As he left to attend lunch with the Chinese Premier, William thanked his hosts. Mr Zhang told him: 'Welcome to China, we didn't have time to visit all of the Forbidden City today, just a small portion.' During a whistlestop tour of the Forbidden City, William admired the view of ancient temples and palaces on the hill beyond the 10m-high walls . It came the Duke took part in a 'Shaun the Sheep' promotion at the British Ambassador's official residence . The Duke, whose whistlestop tour lasted just 35 minutes, replied: 'It feels like a very big portion. 'It's beautiful and lovely, thank you so much for showing me around. I hope that you manage to conserve it going forward. It's such a massive area.' Built between 1406 and 1420, the Chinese imperial palace was home to 24 emperors, 14 of the Ming dynasty and 10 of the Qing dynasty. The last Emperor, Puyi, abdicated in 1912 but was allowed to remain in the Inner Court until a coup in 1924. It is now a museum housing some 1.8million items and attracts more than 15 million visitors a year. It contains 980 buildings, including 90 palaces and courtyards, 8,704 rooms and is the largest collection of preserved wooden structures in the world, covering 150,000 square metres. Later today he will fly to Shanghai to embark on a concerted push to promote British business and culture when he opens the Government's GREAT festival of Creativity at the city's Long Museum. The festival is designed to showcase British innovation and creativity in everything from fashion to health, technology, education and entertainment. It's a packed programme of engagements and while there is palpable disappointment that the prince's wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, had been forced to remain at home due to the advanced stage of her second pregnancy, William has made the right noises so far, it seems.
Prince continues most diplomatically important tour of his royal career . He meets leader of growing power China in country's Congress building . UK is keen to foster good relations with Beijing and Prince's visit is key . With pregnant Kate in UK, Chinese President wished William well with baby . He toured ancient Forbidden City, which he called 'beautiful and lovely'
Prince said he is interested in China's football, as well as its history . Comes after his father, Prince Charles, said regime were 'old waxworks'