Britain and China are becoming "increasingly interdependent" parts of a "community of shared interests", Chinese President Xi Jinping has told MPs and peers in an address to both Houses of Parliament.

Speaking in Mandarin, Mr Xi said that he believed his four-day State visit to the UK was helping to lift the friendly relationship between the two countries to "a new height".

The address, in the lavish surroundings of Parliament's Royal Gallery, is a high point of the first state visit by a Chinese leader for 10 years.

Mr Xi, who arrived in the UK on Monday evening, said: "Although my visit has just started, I am already deeply impressed by the vitality of China-UK relations and the profound friendship between our peoples.

"This gives me good reason to believe that my visit will lift the friendly ties between our two countries to a new height."

Mr Xi said that the experience of giving his address in the historic Parliament gave him "the feeling of going back in time".

He acknowleged that the British parliament was the oldest in the world, but added: "In China, the concept of putting people first and following the rule of law emerged in the ancient times."

In an 11-minute speech, the President quoted Shakespeare as well as ancient Chinese proverbs, and referenced the involvement of Chinese troops in the Normandy landings in the Second World War.

His audience included not only Prime Minister David Cameron and Commons Speaker John Bercow, but also Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the SNP's Westminster leader Angus Robertson, Home Secretary Theresa May and other senior MPs.

"Although China and the UK are located at opposite ends of the Eurasian continent, we have a long shared deep mutual affection," he said.

"Since the founding of new China in 1949, our two countries have led the way in a number of areas in terms of bilateral relations."

Britain was the first Western power to recognise the new People's Republic and the first EU member to establish a strategic partnership with China, and the first major Western country to apply for membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, he said.

It is now the leading offshore trading centre, apart from Hong Kong, for China's renminbi currency and hosts more Chinese students than any other EU country.

"It is fair to say that China and the UK are increasingly interdependent and becoming a community of shared interests," said Mr Xi.

Mr Xi said ties between the two nations had been driven by "mutual understanding, support and friendship".

He highlighted how 24 Chinese naval cadets took part in the Normandy landings and received personal thanks from Winston Churchill for their gallantry.

The president also pointed to intervention by China to help save the life of Cpl Anna Cross who contracted Ebola while volunteering in Sierra Leone.

The UK military medic was the first person to be given the experimental Ebola drug MIL 77 after China "promptly responded" to British requests for help.

Mr Xi praised MPs and peers for their work to improve ties between the countries and insisted there was an "even brighter future".

He said: "It's thanks to such efforts made by numerous Chinese and Britons that China and UK relations have made steady progress despite the vast distance between our two countries."

"Parliamentarians are the cream of a society and I hope you will, as we Chinese often say, scale higher to see further.

"I hope that you will continue to promote the UK's relations with China, strengthen our friendship and support our co-operation.

"And, I hope that you will build a bridge of understanding and co-operation so as to help create an even brighter and more promising future of our bilateral ties."