On the final day of his state visit to the UK, Xi Jinping will make history by becoming the first Chinese President to visit Manchester. 

Accompanied by David Cameron and George Osborne, Mr Xi will be touring football stadiums, research laboratories and civil infrastructure projects across the city designed to showcase the Northern Powerhouse initiative.  

Creating a unified north with the aim of addressing the economic imbalance will require swathes of foreign investment. The securing of Manchester Airport's first direct flight to mainland China has taken huge steps to connect the north with Far Eastern investors, only time will tell what further deals will be brokered off of the back of this flagship visit and drive momentum for the Northern Powerhouse. 

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