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* Cameron in first China trip since Dalai Lama row last year
* Priority is to deepen economic ties
* Cameron says he will push EU-China trade deal
* Campaigners urge him to raise Tibet
By Andrew Osborn
BEIJING, Dec 2 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister DavidCameron flew into China saying he wanted to lay the ground for amulti-billion-dollar free trade deal between Beijing and theEuropean Union, despite growing unease about his own country'smembership of the bloc.
On a three-day visit with a delegation of around 100business people, the largest British mission of its kind ever,Cameron said he wanted his country to play an important role inChina's expansion as the world's second biggest economy istalking about opening up its markets.
"China's transformation is one of the defining facts of ourlifetime," Cameron wrote in Caixin, a Chinese weekly newsmagazine, on the eve of the visit.
"There is a genuine choice for every country over how torespond. They can choose to see China's rise as a threat or anopportunity. Britain's answer is clear. We want to see Chinasucceed."
Cameron's push for an EU-China trade deal will irritate theEuropean Commission, which is understood to be strongly opposedto such a move on the grounds that it risks flooding the blocwith cheap Chinese imports.
It is also likely to be seized upon by political opponentsas he has put a question mark over Britain's continuedmembership of the 28-nation EU by promising Britons an in/outreferendum on leaving the bloc if re-elected in 2015.
A British government analysis has shown that eliminatingtariffs between China and the EU in the 20 sectors where theywere highest would save British exporters around a billionpounds annually, officials said.
"I now want to set a new long-term goal of an ambitious andcomprehensive EU-China Free Trade Agreement," Cameron wrote.
"And as I have on the EU-US deal, so I will put my fullpolitical weight behind such a deal which could be worth tens ofbillions of dollars every year."
Cameron is expected to raise the subject in a meeting withChinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday. His office said he was thefirst European leader to champion such a deal in this way.
He had already discussed the idea of an EU-China trade dealwith other EU member states, it added. Such a deal would addressservices liberalisation and better intellectual property rightsprotection.
HUMAN RIGHTS
British finance minister George Osborne opened the door tofurther Chinese investment in Britain during a visit to Beijinglast month. He announced less stringent rules for Chinese banksoperating in London, in a push to make the British capital themain offshore hub for trading in China's currency and bonds.
He also paved the way for Chinese investors to take majoritystakes in future British nuclear plants.
Campaigners have often accused Cameron of putting tradebefore human rights. On this trip, activists want him to raisewhat they say are rights abuses in Tibet.
A senior source in his office said before the trip thatBritain had turned the page on a rift with China over Tibet,adding that Cameron had no plans to meet the Dalai Lama, Tibet'sspiritual leader-in-exile, again after their meeting last yearangered Beijing.
Cameron will visit a training academy for Jaguar Land Roversales staff in Beijing on Monday to mark its official opening asthe carmaker unveils a deal worth 4.5 billion pounds to provide100,000 cars to the National Sales Company in China.
England's Premier League is also expected to announce anagreement with the Chinese Super League to further developfootball in China and boost the Premier League's profile.
Xavier Rolet, the chief executive of the London StockExchange, is travelling with Cameron.
The business delegation also includes Andrew Witty, thechief executive of GlaxoSmithKline. The company wasdrawn into a bribery case in China earlier this year whichresulted in police detaining four Chinese GSK executives.
Peter Humphrey, a British man running a risk advisory group,was also detained and is still being held.
