The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is investing £650 million in Manchester Airport.

According to the Financial Times, the deal will be signed when George Osbourne visits Beijing on October 13th, a trip designed to improve relations between the two countries.

It is going to be one of the biggest investments in the UK outside of London and will earn China a stake in Manchester's Airport City enterprise zone - a government appointed area to encourage business and economic growth.

ICBC has backed both, the zone's developer Argent and the construction company Carillon. Doing so will guarantee contracts within the zone for Chinese companies.

Manchester Airport is now in discussions to open direct flights to China and the government believes the funding could herald a new era of China investment in UK infrastructure.

ICBC - a state owned bank and the world's largest according to market capitalisation - has been expanding its global investments, with foreign assets growing 30 per cent last year, twice as fast as domestic deals.