China Now, which gets under way in February to coincide with the start of Lunar New Year, comes amid heightened British interest in China, largely due to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, they added.

The festival has been organised by business rather than government, but those behind it say the event, which will cost in excess of 50 million pounds (66 million euros, 100 million dollars), aims to promote cultural links.

Highlights of the six-month programme include a major exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert Museum on contemporary Chinese design, a themed Hong Kong day at Ascot racecourse, west of London, and Lunar New Year celebrations in the capital.

Simon Heale, China Now's chief executive, told reporters that the idea was "to inform, to educate, to enthuse as many people as possible in this country about China".

Despite Britons' heightened interest in China ahead of the Olympics, knowledge of the world's most populous country is shaky, with only seven percent able to identify the president as Hu Jintao, he added.

"I have a great belief that if we want to do better business, we have got to understand a country's culture," Alan Parker, co-vice chairman of the festival and chairman of financial public relations firm Brunswick, told AFP.

China Now is chaired by Stephen Green, group chairman of HSBC Holdings, while James Hughes-Hallett, chairman of The Swire Group and a director of Cathay Pacific Airways, is another vice-chairman.