This week's China Dialogue includes an article on how the forthcoming Kunming Biodiversity Summit can be successful
Please read the article by Li Shuo below:
3 Steps to make Kunming Biodiversity Summit a success
With thanks to the team at China Dialogue for sharing these insights.
CBI member InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has today announced the signing of ten new deals under seven of its brands in Western China.
The ten hotels will span several different tiered cities and well-known destinations in Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Gansu, and Guizhou Province.
Building on the momentum of its existing and successful multi-brand hotel portfolio in the area, IHG will further strengthen its leadership and tap into the large potential of this fast-growing market. Boasting distinctive natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, the western area of China has been a worldwide attraction.
Enjoying great opportunities brought by policies like the Belt and Road Initiative, the cities’ economies continue to boom with the acceleration of urbanisation, as well as the upgrading of transportation and other supporting facilities.
According to world leading hotel and tourism consultancy, Horwath HTL, market expectations for the overall performance of the hotel sector in Western China have risen significantly in recent years.
Please read more here.
CBI MAKES THE CASE FOR BRITISH BUSINESS IN CHINA
The CBI’s Director-General is visiting China this week on a trade visit with the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Theresa May.
Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General, said:
“The Sino-British relationship is a tremendous success story. From services to schools, and iPhones to tea, our countries have a special and integral place in each other’s lives.
“British businesses are keen to play their part in further deepening and engraining the economic ties between China and the United Kingdom. With the consumer market alone worth over £3.3 trillion, this relationship creates thousands of jobs in the UK and China, raising living standards and boosting productivity.
“As the UK forges a new global trading future, it is well ahead of the curve in making the most of its relationship with the world’s fastest growing economy. By making inroads into China’s lesser economically known regions, the UK stands to profit from China’s move from manufacturing and infrastructure into technology and services, writing a new chapter in the golden era of relations.”
30 January 2018
Notes to Editors:
Read the CBI’s latest report on British trade and investment with China, Sterling Assets China.
Across the UK, the CBI speaks on behalf of 190,000 businesses of all sizes and sectors. The CBI’s corporate members together employ nearly 7 million people, about one third of private sector-employees. With offices in the UK as well as representation in Brussels, Washington, Beijing and Delhi, the CBI communicates the British business voice around the world.
Media Contact:
CBI Press Office is available 24 hours a day on 0207 395 8239, or email: [email protected] Follow the CBI (@CBItweets), Carolyn Fairbairn (CBICarolyn) and CBI China (CBIBEIJING) on Twitter.
Dear CBI Members and Partners,
Kindly find the Chinese version of the CBI's first China Sterling Assets Report attached below for your reference.
Many thanks.
The inaugural Sterling Assets Report has been on a pan-China Roadshow since its launch on Thursday 02 November in Beijing.
The objective of the Roadshow was to circulate the Report's key findings to the diverse and dynamic UK business network in China and encourage policymakers and local officials to use the Report to promote greater UK-China business investment.
Additionally the Report was received by business stakeholders the CBBC, British Chambers, Department of International Trade (DIT) and a visiting delegation of the All Party Parliamentary China Group in Guangzhou.
China Direct would like to sincerely thank HM Consuls Cecile Elbeleidi in Chongqing, HM Consul Karen Maddocks in Guangzhou, HM Consul John Edwards in Shanghai and HM Consul Nick Whittingham in Wuhan for their support.
Please note that China Direct will have the Chinese language version of the Report available for review and download by mid-November.
Kindly find the original Report and Executive Summary attached below for your reference.
Download CBI China Sterling Assets Report
Download Sterling Assets China Executive Summary
Thank you.
Our thanks to CBI member PwC China for sharing their latest 'The Chinese Cities of Opportunity' Report.
This is a series of city survey reports jointly released by the CDRF and PwC China and was for discussion at the recently concluded China Development Forum held in Beijing earlier this month.
Four editions of the Chinese Cities of Opportunity report have been published since 2014.
Please refer to the attached for a summary and the link below to download the full report.
Download Chinese Cities of Opportunity
The full Cities of Opportunity 7 report is available at:
http://www.pwccn.com/home/chi/cities_of_opportunity_7_chi.html
For enquiries please contact: [email protected] or Tel: 00 86 10 65338717
CBI member British Airways boosted its network between China and the U.K. with a new partnership with China Eastern Airlines, one of the three major airlines in mainland China.
Under the agreement, customers of China Eastern Airlines are now able to buy tickets for onward connections to seven cities in the U.K., namely Aberdeen, Belfast City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, and Newcastle with British Airways, with a China Eastern Airlines flight number added to the sectors.
By the same token, British Airways customers flying to China can connect to Kunming, Xi’an, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Chongqing with the Shanghai-based airline. These tickets are now available for booking on ba.com, with a British Airways flight number added to the sectors.
British Airways currently operates direct flights from Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu to London.
What’s more, British Airways customers flying to the five Chinese cities leveraging the new code-sharing facilitation will have the additional benefit of earning Avios loyalty points on the China Eastern sectors.
Richard Tams, British Airways’ Executive Vice President for China, said, “The U.K. is home to such a unique blend of incredible cultural heritage, modern innovations, as well as marvelous shopping and sight-seeing delights, we are ready to welcome more Chinese travellers to the U.K. to see for themselves. This agreement not only opens up further the China market to our U.K. customers, but also gives our China-based air travellers access to our extensive network in the U.K.”
He added, “With an extensive worldwide network and a reputation for great customer service, China Eastern Airlines is a partner of choice for British Airways. Our collaboration will allow us to serve an even bigger spectrum of the blooming outbound travellers from China.”
On 07-08 March, the first ever delegation of British Ambassadors to Southeast Asian countries visited Kunming in Yunnan province to promote cross-border collaboration between the U.K., China, and its Southeast Asian neighbours.
The visit was organised by the British Consulate-General in Chongqing. Invited by Tina Redshaw, British Consul-General in Chongqing, British Ambassadors and senior diplomats from Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, with Philip Malone, Deputy Director of the Southeast Asia Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London, visited Kunming, which plays a strategic role in China’s One Belt, One Road initiative.
The delegation’s aim was to understand how Yunnan’s government is positioning the province as a gateway to Southeast Asia and to explore the prospect of deepening U.K.-Yunnan-Southeast Asia economic and trade co-operation.
In Kunming, the delegation held a roundtable with Yunnan government authorities to understand Yunnan’s development and its engagement with Southeast Asia and its history of cross-border collaboration. They also met business representatives in Kunming to understand their investment plans in Southeast Asia, the challenges and opportunities they face, and how the British embassies in the region might play a bigger role in facilitating cross-border collaboration.
The delegation also visited Shilin Experimental Solar Power Plant to learn about the state of renewable energy development in Yunnan and its collaboration with Southeast Asia in this sector.
Together with partners in Southwest China, the Consulate General in Chongqing is keen to deepen relationships as part of the “golden era” of China and U.K. relations following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit last year.
The latest symbol of that is a friendship partnership agreement signed in February between Kunming and Liverpool. The cities will forge closer collaboration in healthcare, life sciences, green energy, and the creative industries.
Tina Redshaw, Consul-General said, “We hope to increase multilateral understanding in the region through the visit and to encourage more regional co-operation.” Please read more here.
Liverpool recently signed a friendship agreement with Kunming. The partnership will see the two cities build on existing ties and work together to create a positive, mutually beneficial relationship.
The agreement is the result of a dialogue between the Vice Mayor of the Kunming Municipal Government and Joe Anderson, the Mayor of Liverpool, in Chengdu in September 2015.
The agreement was signed by Gary Millar, the Vice Mayor of Liverpool, cabinet member for Business, Enterprise, and Investment, and board member of Liverpool Vision, and Vice Mayor Zhao Xuenong from Kunming at a ceremony in the Chinese city.
Counselor Millar and Ellen Cutler, Director of Invest Liverpool (part of Liverpool Vision), attended the ceremony as part of a wider visit to Southwest China, organised by Invest Liverpool.
Under the friendship agreement, the cities will seek to deliver sustainable economic and community benefits by collaborating on a broad range of activities, including trade and investment, science and technology, culture, creative, and tourism. The partnership will be developed and implemented through bilateral friendship visits.
Business delegations from Kunming will also be attending the International Festival for Business 2016. There is also the potential to host a Liverpool event in Kunming.
The British Consulate has been working closely with Liverpool to support its growing city-to-city relationships in China through a year-long project that focused on urban regeneration, healthcare, and creative.
The successful outcome of this visit provides a strong base for continuing our engagement with Liverpool and in supporting cities across South West China in strengthening their cultural and commercial links with cities across the UK.
Please read more here.
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.
Please read more here.
