From government to business, the UK looks forward to strengthening economic and trade cooperation with China

"We realize that bilateral economic and trade cooperation between China and the UK is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, we should maintain an open attitude and engage in more exchanges and communication." On May 16th, Caroline Elizabeth Wilson, the British Ambassador to China, stated at the 70th anniversary celebration dinner of the UK China Trade Association held in Beijing that although the two countries may not always reach an agreement on all issues, they should understand each other's views through dialogue and avoid misunderstandings.

Wu Ruolan stated that maintaining good economic and trade cooperation requires mutual trust among partners. The orderly flow of capital and personnel is crucial for maintaining the economic and trade relations between the two countries. In the past 70 years, economic and trade exchanges between China and the UK have continued to deepen, and the total amount of trade and investment has grown rapidly. UK companies such as Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline, and AstraZeneca have achieved positive results in their development in China. Currently, the demand for British goods and services in the Chinese market is steadily recovering. Since the beginning of this year, the economic and trade ties between China and the UK have become even closer. Although there may still be differences between the two countries on some issues, it is like it is impossible for people to reach a consensus on all issues. More importantly, although facing some obstacles in global economic governance, China and the UK have always maintained the same opinion on enhancing economic and trade exchanges between each other. "We hope to promote more cooperation between China and the UK through investment," said Wu Ruolan.

Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, stated at the dinner that the UK is China's third largest trading partner, third largest investment destination, and third largest source of foreign investment in Europe. China is the second largest trading partner of the UK in the world and the largest trading partner in Asia. The 70 year history of exchanges and cooperation between China and the UK profoundly demonstrates that the essence of China UK relations is mutual benefit and win-win. China and the United Kingdom are both important countries and major economies in the world. Maintaining healthy and stable relations between the two countries not only benefits each other but also contributes to world peace and development.

Ren Hongbin said that the business community is the driving force and promoter of China UK economic and trade cooperation. Last year, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, together with 48 British clubs and the China UK Trade Association, held a commemorative event to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the China UK trade icebreaker journey. At present, China has embarked on a new journey to promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese path to modernization. The development opportunities brought by Chinese path to modernization, the policy opportunities for China to adhere to opening up, and the market opportunities for China's economy to continue to improve will further emerge. Standing at a new historical starting point, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade is willing to work together with partners such as the UK China Trade Association to seize historical opportunities, demonstrate greater achievements, build more high-quality platforms for practical cooperation between the business communities of the two countries, provide more accurate services, promote pragmatic cooperation between enterprises of the two countries to a greater extent, in a wider field, and at a deeper level, and depict the bright background of friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the UK with practical actions, bringing more benefits to the people of both countries and the world.

Sir Sherard Louis Cowper Coles, President of the China UK Trade Association, stated that the two countries have strong economic complementarity. The continuous deepening of economic and trade exchanges between the two countries can promote the effective flow of goods, services, personnel, etc., fully leverage their respective comparative advantages, and achieve mutual economic benefits and win-win outcomes between the two countries.

Tom Simpson, President of the China region of the China UK Trade Association, stated that the association now has over 140 employees providing two-way business support to 500 member companies in 9 office locations in China and the UK. In the past few years, despite facing some difficulties, the economic and trade relations between China and the UK have still achieved steady growth. British companies have maintained a high level of investment in China, and the interest of Chinese companies in investing in the UK is also recovering. The economic and trade exchanges between China and the UK have gained more certainty.

As a representative of the company participating in the event that day, Simon Yang, Senior Vice President and President of China at BP, stated that in the past 50 years, BP has been committed to becoming China's energy partner and supporting China's prosperity and development. Nowadays, BP has established more than 20 joint ventures with Chinese partners, covering oil exploration, production, trade, and retail fields worldwide. In this process, BP and its Chinese partners mutually benefit and bring more prosperity to the world economy. In the future, BP will continue to strengthen its partnership with Chinese partners and jointly face new opportunities and challenges in the international market.