In a televised appeal, Prince William has urged Chinese consumers to stop buying illegally traded wildlife products. The Duke of Cambridge was speaking at the Maughan Library at London's King's College on 19 October as China's President Xi Jinping visits Britain on a four-day state visit.

"I am absolutely convinced that China can become a global leader in the protection of wildlife. Your influence in the world means you can change the face of conservation in this century. This would be a contribution that would go down in history, one that your great-grandchildren would speak of with great pride. The greatest inheritance we can pass on to the next generation is a safe," he said.

The prince was filmed at King's College in London before an audience of students and guests. "Those doctors and medical practitioners in China that are speaking out against the use of endangered species in medicine, they are not judging previous generations who did not have the facts that you do today.

"They are just accepting the truth that all credible evidence and scientific research shows, for example, that rhino horn cannot cure cancer," he added. The recording is due to be broadcast in China on state television in early November.

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