President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United Kingdom next week will usher in a "golden decade" and a new dimension for cooperation, former British prime minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday.

"It's possible to get to an even higher and increased level of cooperation, not just economically but politically," Blair told China Daily in London.

His comments came ahead of Xi's visit from Oct 19 to 23, the first state visit by a Chinese president to the UK in 10 years.