Flag China United Kingdom Photo: GT

Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao urged Chinese and UK companies to do the right thing in the face of the challenges of Sino-UK relations during a video conference with representatives of UK businesses at the invitation of this last wednesday.

Executives from 15 multinational companies including HSBC, Burberry Group, Standard Chartered, Jaguar Land Rover, Prudential, Diageo and Reckitt attended the conference.

Wang told British companies that Sino-British trade relations served both as a ballast and a propellant for the overall bilateral relationship. Since the pandemic, pragmatic cooperation between China and the UK has grown rapidly and shown resilience.

Wang said China has become the UK’s largest source of imports, and the UK is China’s second-largest destination for foreign investment in Europe and the second-largest source of foreign direct investment. These achievements are closely associated with the efforts of Chinese and British companies.

Wang said China’s new development model presented huge opportunities for British businesses, and Prime Minister Li Keqiang’s video conference had significantly boosted British business confidence.

Wang urged Chinese and British companies to do the right thing in the face of the pandemic, the unstable recovery of the global economy and the changing international order.

China urges British companies to continue deepening their trade relations in China, given the complementarity and enormous potential for economic and trade cooperation.

It is hoped that British companies can continue to act as a bridge between the two countries and present China to the British public in a comprehensive and objective manner, Wang said.

Wang urged the British government to adhere to a Chinese policy characterized by mutual respect, open cooperation and mutual interests, to respect each other’s fundamental interests, and jointly forge a stable and predictable business environment for Sino economic and trade cooperation. -British.

Participating UK companies have expressed interest in deepening cooperation with their Chinese counterparts in the areas of financial services, infrastructure, green economy, medicine / health, high-end manufacturing and education.

Yu Jianhua, Vice Minister of Commerce and Chinese International Trade Representative, also took part in the meeting.