On 29 November 2023, H.E. Ambassador Zheng Zeguang attended the sixth China-UK Economic and Trade Forum in Manchester and delivered a keynote speech. Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, delivered video remarks. Lord Dominic Johnson, Minister of State in the Department for Business and Trade, Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and Fang Wenjian, Chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK, attended the Forum and maderemarkes respectively.
Ambassador Zheng outlined China's economic situation in his speech. He pointed out that since the beginning of this year, the economies of many countries around the world are on the brink of recession and plagued by high inflation, soaring living costs, and low growth. In spite of the complex and severe external environment, China's economy has been recovering and turning for the better, with growth reaching 5.2% in the first three quarters, and is expected to contribute one-third to global growth for the entire year. At present, China's economy has entered a new stage of high-quality development, and is now higher value-added and greener. New energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products have become the new name cards of Chinese exports. China remains committed to advancing high-standard opening up and this will create more opportunities for foreign companies to cooperate with China. In the following five years, China will import 17 trillion dollars’ worth of goods and services, which will provide a broader space of collaboration for companies from various countries, including the UK.
Ambassador Zheng noted that local economic and trade cooperation is part and parcel of the overall China-UK cooperation. In recent years, China's pragmatic cooperation with Manchester and Northern England has continued to deepen, and China is now Greater Manchester's third-largest trading partner. The two sides have achieved fruitful results in collaboration on frastructure, urban upgrading, netzero emissions, and bio-medicine. It is important that the UK government provides an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies, which serves the interests of both sides. China also welcomes companies from Manchester and Northern England to actively explore the Chinese market. It is hoped that Chinese and British enterprises will maintain strong confidence, take a pragmatic approach, adhere to the principle of mutual benefit, actively expand new areas of collaboration, and continue to create new highlights in cooperation.
Lord Johnson said in his remarks that China's development and opening up has provided many important opportunities for British enterprises. Th UK government welcomes more Chinese companies to invest and establish businesses in the UK, and is willing to create favorable conditions for investment cooperation between the two sides.
The Forum was hosted by the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK and co-organised by several Chinese and British institutions. About 250 participants from political and business sectors of the two countries attended the event.
****************
The China-UK Economic and Trade Forum is one of the regular flagshipevents organised by the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK. It aims to strengthen economic and trade exchanges between the two countries and explore new opportunities for cooperation in the changing landscape. To date, the Forum has held six consecutive sessions since its launch in 2018.
