Trade unionists and China-watchers will meet at Congress House today to launch a new TUC report on what Britain can learn from the Far-Eastern giant.

A seminar on The Way of the Dragon chaired by BBC chief business correspondent Linda Yeuh will explore the way China has achieved decades of impressive economic growth through state investment and economic planning.

It will also look at policies followed by other “Asian tigers” such as South Korea and Singapore, noting that government support for industry and a refusal to swallow “free market” dogma are key to understanding their success.

State investment in research and new technologies is also far higher in the Far East, it notes.

The Way of the Dragon argues that if ministers are serious about ending Britain’s over-reliance on financial services “they must roll up their sleeves and adopt a much more proactive approach towards developing certain sectors of the economy.”

TUC assistant general secretary Paul Nowak said yesterday that “China believes strongly in the role of the state in planning what has been rather phenomenal economic activity in recent years” and called for the British government to identify “key industries where government support could help emerging firms become world leaders and encourage UK companies to look for business opportunities within China’s very detailed current five-year plan.”

Mr Nowak also called for ministers to take action to tempt more Chinese students to study at British universities to boost mutual understanding and promote future trade.

Schools should teach Mandarin Chinese on the same scale that they teach French and German currently, he added.

The report recommends creating a state investment bank which could back key infrastructure projects and help build sustainable export industries and skilled, well-paid jobs.

But it also demands that Britain remains in the EU — one of “three large economic blocs” worldwide alongside China and the United States — even though EU treaties bar member states from following the interventionist economic strategy and commitment to public ownership that lie at the heart of China’s achievement.