In early June, the British Consulate-General in Chongqing hosted receptions in Chongqing and Chengdu to mark the Queen’s Birthday and the 15th anniversary of the British Consulate-General in Southwest China.
The British Consulate-General in Chongqing was established on 01 March 2000. Throughout the past 15 years, it has been actively engaged in a wide spectrum of areas, playing a vital role in overseas exchanges in the region.
Since the establishment of the Consulate-General, it has worked closely with local partners to strengthen links in trade and investment, culture and art, science and innovation, climate change and energy, achieving great success.
In December 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron led a business delegation to visit Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, helping British business leaders better understand the region, and thus promoting closer relationships between the U.K. and Southwest China.
In recent years, British companies have done well in Southwest China, particularly in the urbanisation sector and in architectural and engineering design, with a number landmark buildings in the region having been designed by British companies.
Famous local companies, such as Chang’an and Chongqing Machinery and Electric Co. Ltd. (CQME) have established themselves in the U.K. The U.K. has also worked with local partners to promote carbon capture and storage technology, carbon trading, and collaboration on shale gas.
In 2014, the U.K. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Chongqing Development and Reform Commission on strengthening co-operation in climate change and energy, which has laid a solid foundation for future collaborative work in this area.
The U.K. government’s cultural and education section has also achieved great success in the region through a range of teachers’ training, school link-ups, arts and cultural exchange projects and social entrepreneur training schemes.
2015 marks a flagship year for U.K.-China relations, with the first ever bilaterally agreed U.K.-China Year of Cultural Exchange. Southwest China will host a series of events across different art disciplines, with headliner events including Mother River – Yan Wang Preston 2015 China Tour Exhibition, The Selector, U.K. Music on the Go, etc.
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