China and the UK signed trade deals worth £1.4 billion ($2.3 billion) during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s three-day visit to the UK this week.
Premier Wen's visit demonstrates the growing commitment of both China and the UK to continue deepening bilateral ties through engagement at the highest levels.
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang visited the UK earlier this year in January while UK Prime Minister David Cameron led the largest ever British delegation to China last November.
Each of the three high-level visits in the past eight months have yielded impressive packages of new business deals.
CBI members were well-represented in the commercial agreements signed during Premier Wen’s visit this week. Highlights include:
CBI member BG Group signed an agreement with Bank of China for $1.5 billion of new funding options to support the UK company's global growth plans.
CBI member Diageo received approval from Chinese regulatory authorities in Beijing to acquire a majority stake in well-known Chinese liquor maker Shuijingfang.
CBI member Benoy announced four new contracts for infrastructure projects worth over £10 million for the British company
CBI member Arup signed an MOU on railway cooperation with China Railway Engineering Corporation.
CBI member Nottingham University signed an agreement with China Aviation Industry Corporation to establish a new R&D centre at the University of Nottingham.
CBI member University College London signed an MOU with leading Chinese ethanol producer Tianguan Group on the development of a biogas research facility near the city of Nanyang in central China's Henan Province.
Premier Wen's visit also yielded a number of important government-to-government agreements, including:
UK Trade & Investment and China's Ministry of Commerce signed an MOU on cooperation on investment promotion.
The agreement reflects the UK government's desire to support Chinese investment into priority asset classes, such as infrastructure, as part of the new UKTI strategy to encourage more innovative and high-growth foreign direct investment into the UK.
UK Trade & Investment and China's Ministry of Commerce signed an agreement on trade in services, which will help support increased exports of UK services to China. The UK enjoys particular expertise in the services sector, and the country's services exports to China have been growing at an average of 17-18% annually over the last decade.
Please read more about the outcomes of Premier Wen's visit to the UK here and here.
China Direct would like to thank Ben Cooper, CBI Policy Analyst, for this contribution.
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