The prime minister visits a branch of the British supermarket chain Tesco in Beijing, and explains why he has brought such a huge number of business leaders on his trade delegation Reuters

David Cameron arrived in China early this morning vowing to double UK trade to the country to $100bn (£62bn) a year by 2015, and predicting that the army of British business leaders accompanying him on his two-day visit would sign more than 40 deals worth billions of pounds.

In an article for the Wall Street Journal, the prime minister lauded China, saying it was lifting billions of people out of poverty at a rate unprecedented in history, and made only passing reference to the need to address human rights.

Only a year ago one of the four cabinet ministers accompanying the PM, education secretary Michael Gove, denounced China as "a police state with thousands executed by government fiat every year". Gove said its leaders were the "real disciples" of the totalitarian state set out in George Orwell's 1984. "They live by the dark fear he embedded at the heart of 1984 – power stays with those who use it most ruthlessly." The education secretary is in Beijing to sign a series of educational co-operation agreements.

Cameron predicted UK exports would rise to $30bn (£19bn) a year by 2015, covering climate change, education, consumer technology and the creative industries. Chinese exports to the UK are three times the level of UK exports to China.

Tesco alone has invested $5bn in China in new shopping malls.

In his keynote article designed to set the tone for his talks with the Chinese leadership, Cameron said he was taking Sino-British relations "to a new level based on shared political and economic interests".

He said: "China's achievements in recent years are remarkable. With growth averaging nearly 10% a year for more than three decades, China today is the world's second-largest economy.

"Over the past five years it accounted for a third of the world's economic growth. And this economic power gives it new political influence. China today has lifted more people out of poverty than any other country at any time in human history."

During his 36-hour visit accompanied by a 50-strong delegation, Cameron is due to meet the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, and the premier, Wen Jiabao. He was last in China as an opposition leader in 2007, when he strongly criticised China's human rights record, but on this trip he is putting British business interests first.

Cameron must have noted the way the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, racked up multibillion dollar deals when Hu Jintao visited France this month.

In his Wall Street Journal piece, Cameron writes that Sino-British relations are built around a strong strategic fit between the two countries, and makes only a passing reference to human rights. He states: "Our relationship should be strong enough to address not only those issues on which we agree, but those on which we take a different view.

"We should do so with respect and mutual understanding, acknowledging our different histories. This visit offers an opportunity to discuss some of the areas where we have differences and how we might narrow them, for example through our continuing human rights dialogue."

He goes on: "No other country than the UK can offer the same unique advantages, whether our time zone, our language, or our universities – which include six of the best in Europe and two of the top three globally. In fact the UK is now China's top European partner for joint research, which has more than quadrupled in a decade.

"There is a strong strategic fit between our economies. China is a key export market for Britain.

"And as China rebalances its economy and its growing middle class demand new and ever more high value goods, brands and services, so UK companies have much to offer."

Apart from Gove, Cameron has been joined by the chancellor, George Osborne, the business secretary, Vince Cable, and the energy secretary, Chris Huhne.

Gove is hoping to expand on the number of Chinese students studying in the UK from the current figure of about 100,000. They are the third-largest group of foreign students in British universities and colleges.

Pearson announced it was adding 50 more English language schools in China to the 60 it already operates in the country.

Huhne will have to tread carefully with China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases and a key player in any future talks on climate change. It is due to set a new carbon-reduction plan shortly.

Huhne hopes technology transfer agreements will see British firms win lucrative contracts, including for electric vehicles, as well as open a strategic energy dialogue. He is predicting a million people in the UK will work in the low-carbon sector by 2015, a 100,000 increase in three years.

Business figures including Sir Anthony Bamford, the JCB chairman and Tory donor, and Shell director Malcolm Brinded have joined the government delegation to drum up business for British firms.

But while the prime minister is keen to emphasise Britain's strength in manufacturing and heavy industry such as oil, he has also added to the roster high-profile entrepreneurs and leading lights in the creative industries, including Brent Hoberman, co-founder of lastminute.com, Tamara Mellon, founder of Jimmy Choo shoes, and Anya Hindmarch, handbag-maker to the rich and famous.