CBI member, BT has announced that it has become the first international telecommunications company to receive the required licenses to manage its own operations in China.
BT has been granted two licenses by China’s Ministry of Industry & Information Technology. The first license allows BT to establish a nationwide domestic IP-VPN system. The second, allows BT to establish itself as an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The key change for BT is that the company is now able to contract directly with its clients in the country and bill them in Renminbi.
Bas Burger, CEO of BT Global Services said, “We are delighted with this major benefit for our customers. Thanks to cooperation between the governments of the PRC and the UK, we are now able to offer a nationwide service in China that can be scaled up to match the ambitions and needs of our customers. Being able to service and bill locally significantly simplifies the process of delivering connectivity and other communication services. It is what our customers expect from us and we are very grateful for the opportunity to do this as of today.”
The timing of BT being extended a license carries significance for the wider UK-China business community.
The fact that BT has received a license allowing it to extend its activities within China’s telecommunications sector, during a period of heightened tensions highlights the fact that the fundamentals of the UK-China relationship remain strong. China is looking to partner with British companies who are able to help improve services and upgrade the country’s technological infrastructure to better serve the country’s businesses.
British businesses are managing to navigate the geo-politics of China’s current positioning vis-à-vis the West, a point reinforced by the secretary of state for international trade, who said “[BT receiving a license is, a] major milestone [which demonstrates] that UK firms are represented on the global stage.”
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