LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Britain and China have agreed trade and investment deals worth $500 million, including help for UK low carbon products and services, the British government said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, behind in the polls with an election less than nine months away, sees environmentally-friendly industries and services as one of the main growth areas for Britain's economy.
With unemployment at a 10-year high, Brown is keen to develop trade with fast-emerging economies like China and India. Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, effectively his deputy, said the deals were agreed during his trip to China this week.
The new contracts include a deal between Pilkington Group Ltd, the UK unit of Japanese glassmaker Nippon Sheet Glass Co <5202.T>, and the Chinese glassmaker Shanghai Yaohua Pilkington Glass to build a new factory for energy-efficient glass.
Britain's Carbon Trust, a government-backed body that gives advice on the move to a low-carbon economy, agreed a deal with China Energy Conservation Investment Corporation to help sell British "green" technology in China.
British architects ZEDfactory Ltd, which designs low-carbon buildings, signed a contract with Chinese solar manufacturer Himin.
"(They) will benefit British businesses while helping China meet its tough environment and energy efficiency targets," Mandelson's department said in a statement.
Britain was the first country to set legally-binding emissions targets. It wants to cut its output of planet-warming gases by 34 percent by 2020, from 1990 levels.
China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases from human activity, says it must balance its environmental targets with maintaining growth that lifts millions out of poverty.
Britain and China are working toward a bilateral trade target of $60 billion by 2010, while talks have been held to help Chinese firms list on British stock markets.
During his trade visit, Mandelson urged China to play a bigger role in helping to solve the global economic crisis ahead of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh later this month. (Reporting by Peter Griffiths; editing by Philippa Fletcher)