China Direct

Honeywell opens new Wuhan HQ & Innovation Centre

CBI member, Honeywell, has opened a new emerging-markets and innovation centre in Wuhan. The new centre is part of Honeywell’s strategy to expand its presence in the fast-growing markets in the central and western regions of China.

Zhang Yufeng, president of Honeywell China said: “Honeywell is willing to expand cooperation with Wuhan, and take advantage of the talent and market advantage of the central and western regions in China, to boost technological innovation and better service within the central and western markets.”

Honeywell’s new centre will cover a wide range of operations, including management, research and development, and sales for the company’s intelligent building technologies, speciality materials and technologies, and other Honeywell business avenues.

Currently, Honeywell has over 50 wholly-owned enterprises and joint ventures in more than 30 cities across China, including 21 plants. Consequently, China is now Honeywell’s second largest country market outside of the United States.

British Airways flying to more Chinese destinations with China Southern

 

CBI member, British Airways has announced that it has expanded its code-sharing deal with China Southern Airlines. The pair, which have had a code-sharing deal since 2017, will now code-share on all direct flights operated between London and the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Sanya, Wuhan and Zhengzhou.

The two carriers said at a press conference on Tuesday that their new business agreement would enable them to cooperate more on scheduling and pricing, open up more destinations between the two countries and develop a combined route network from Beijing’s new airport.

Alex Cruz, chairman and CEO of British Airways, said: “We are delighted to announce this joint business which will bring the UK and China closer together by providing British Airways and China Southern Airlines customers with a range of benefits. […]The agreement reinforces [British Airways’] commitment to boost tourism and business travel between the two countries and we look forward to strengthening the relationship further.”

UK-China flying high with new London-Wuhan flight route

The new direct flight between the Central Chinese city of Wuhan and London will support the rapidly growing numbers of Chinese tourists visiting the UK and vice versa.

According to Wuhan's Investment Promotion Bureau there are 310 British enterprises in Wuhan including BP, Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC, which have invested a total investment of $5.25 billion in the city.

For more information please refer to the links below:

Wuhan-London Maiden Flight:

Xinhua net: http://www.xinhuanet.com/local/2018-05/30/c_1122913702.htm

People.com: http://hb.people.com.cn/n2/2018/0531/c194063-31649057.html

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/PTiwwX7PTxcaCb802IgRnQ (English)

 

Northern Powerhouse’s visit to Wuhan:

Chinanews.com : http://www.chinanews.com/cj/2018/06-01/8528215.shtml

China daily: http://hb.chinadaily.com.cn/2018-06/01/content_36314421.htm

 

CBI makes the case for British Business in China

 

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.

China Sterling Assets Report - Chinese Version

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.

Download CBI China Sterling Assets Report_Chinese

Download CBI China Sterling Assets Report

CBI Sterling Assets Report on China Roadshow

 

  

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. 

  

UK Ahead Of The Curve In China Investment Strategy - CBI

 

EMBARGOED: 00:01 Hours, Thursday 02 November, 2017UK AHEAD OF THE CURVE IN CHINA INVESTMENT STRATEGY – CBI

UK is China’s second largest European trading partner  

The UK is shifting its investment into inner regions of China and into new sectors, ahead of the curve of other nations, according to the CBI’s first ever Sterling Assets China report.

Download CBI China Sterling Assets Report

In 2016, the UK was China’s second largest trading partner in the European Union (behind only Germany) and the eighth worldwide, doing £55 billion worth of trade in goods with China. Indeed, after the USA and Germany it is the only country in the list of China’s top nine trading partners not in the Asia Pacific region.

The UK also ranks eighth in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) into China over the last decade, at £4 billion. However, unlike other nations, Great Britain is shifting its focus from coastal to inland provinces, which have historically received a smaller share of FDI, so as to mirror the Chinese government’s Belt and Road development plans. Over half (57%) of British investment in 2015 (over £880 million) went to inland regions, led by Heilongjiang (£313 million) in the north east and Henan (£276 million) in the centre.

Of the £18.1 billion worth of UK exports to China in 2015, Shanghai tops the list (£4.2 billion), followed by Beijing (£2.4 billion) and Guangdong (£1.3 billion). 21% of British exports to China were in transport technology (automotive, rail, air and maritime), 12% in machinery & electrical, 8% in chemical products and 5% in metals. The UK’s top service export was travel (£1.5 billion), with 270,000 Chinese visiting the UK and 91,000 Chinese students enrolling in British universities – far more than from any other country.

Guy Dru Drury MBE, CBI Head of China, said:

“The Sino-British relationship is a great success story. As we delve deeper into the Golden Era of ties between China and the United Kingdom, we have so much to offer each other, and British business is keen to play its part.

“From cars to chemicals, and services to schools, British organisations – especially many smaller companies – are tapping into a growing market in China, one that plays to the UK’s best competitive strengths. With the consumer market worth over £3.3 trillion, instantly recognisable British products are a particularly strong match for a growing generation of affluent Chinese. Moreover, 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.”

Dame Barbara Woodward DCMG OBE, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, said:

“Supporting UK-based companies to invest and operate overseas and become global businesses is part of our strategy to expand mutually beneficial trading relationships around the world. This is especially so in China, the world’s second largest and fastest growing economy.

“This report showcases a wide range of British investment and highlights the strengths and growing confidence of British companies. Investment in China by British companies can generate wealth for the UK, support British jobs, help build UK-based supply chains, and support China’s own economic development.

“As we continue to address the challenges for businesses investing across the globe and help them to make the most of opportunities, positive and proactive engagement of UK and Chinese businesses remains vitally important.”

Between 2015 and 2016, greenfield project investment into China exceeded £2.25 billion. The financial services sector saw the highest value investments (£488 million), followed by logistics (£292 million), consumer products (£268 million) and business services (£209 million).

02 November 2017

Notes to Editors:

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.

The CBI 2017 Annual Conference will take place on Monday 6th November at the NEW LOCATION of the InterContinental London – The 02 hotel. Media can now register here (clicking on the “Media” box, entering the code 7286). Please note that journalists will be asked to upload a photo as part of the registration process. The closing date for applications is Thursday 02 November.

Follow the CBI (@CBItweets) on Twitter and on the day of annual conference using the hashtag #CBI2017.

Media Contact:

CBI Press Office is available 24 hours a day on 0207 395 8239, or email: [email protected]. Follow the CBI (@CBItweets) and CBI China (@CBIBEIJING) on Twitter.

GSK partners with Ali Health to launch China online health platform

 

CBI member GSK China and Ali Health jointly announced a strategic partnership to launch an innovative adult vaccination service system. The system will include online disease education and consultation, online HCP appointment booking, and deliver convenient online-to-offline (O2O) end-to-end service for users.

Moreover, community healthcare service centres nationwide can utilise this platform to manage vaccination enquiries and requests. This will help enhance efficiency at the centres and help reduce costs and workload, thus optimising public healthcare institutions’s resources.

By year-end, the platform is expected to cover 1500 community healthcare service centres in more than one hundred cities nationwide, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Wuhan. As living standard improves, people’s approach of healthcare has been gradually shifting from "disease treatment" to "disease prevention".

However, there is still a lack of adequate disease prevention awareness among the general public, including knowledge of the means and pathways of disease prevention. For example, many adults are not fully aware of the government’s immunisation programmes that are available to them, or which healthcare institutions offer disease-preventing vaccination services. Innovative adult disease prevention service was created to cater exactly to this large unmet need.

Please read more here.

Foster + Partners, ‘City Visions: A Sustainable Future’ Exhibition opens at the Big House, Wuhan

 

City Visions: A Sustainable Future, a major exhibition about the urban design work of CBI member Foster + Partners, has opened at the Big House in Wuhan.

The show features a wide range of the practice’s work over several decades highlighting the variety and depth of projects that have sought to improve the urban environments of cities world-wide.

New urban planning projects for Wuhan city are explained through models, photos and videos including projects for Wuhan Aomen Road Masterplan, Sanyang Road District and Yuexiu Global Financial City.

The exhibition offers visitors a unique insight into the workings of the studio and the urban design process, in which architects and urban designers work closely together to design prosperous, socially enriching projects capable of evolving to meet future needs.

Foster + Partners’ urban design philosophy has always been underpinned by the acknowledgement that the design of the built environment must be generated by the needs of people, be respectful of the existing built fabric, cater to the local economy, and above all, be sustainable.

Please read more here.

Swansea-Wuhan joint medical centre launched in one of China’s largest hospitals

CBI member Swansea University announced that links between the University and China, from medical research to education and staff development, were on the horizon thanks to the opening of a new joint medical centre at Wuhan Union Hospital, which was founded in 1866 by a Swansea-born missionary, the Reverend Dr. Griffith John.

The Centre was opened in a ceremony in Wuhan, attended by leaders from Swansea University and the Wuhan Union Hospital, and by the U.K. Consul General. It will promote clinical and life sciences research and build student and staff exchanges and education collaborations through an annual Medical Forum, a professional association, publications, and collaborative projects.

The new Centre builds on the formal collaboration between Swansea University and Wuhan Union Hospital, initiated in 2012, when a delegation from Union Hospital and Huazhong University visited Swansea to present a copper bust of Griffith John to the city. The bust is permanently displayed in Swansea Museum.

The Wuhan Union Hospital, one of China’s biggest, has over 5,000 in-patient beds. Each year, the hospital staff care for 3.5 million outpatients, admit 158,000 patients, and carry out 72,000 operations.

Professor Iwan Davies, Pro Vice Chancellor at Swansea University, said, “Swansea University is a global university. We are pursuing an ambitious internationalisation strategy and developing deep partnerships with great institutions with world credentials.

Overseas partners are crucial to our continued success as a University, benefitting our research and our staff and students. This new Medical Centre at one of the leading teaching hospitals in China opens an exciting new chapter in Swansea’s longstanding links with Wuhan, which is also one of China’s fastest-growing cities.

By promoting clinical and life sciences research collaborations and encouraging student and staff exchanges, I am confident that the Centre will realise significant research, humanitarian and health discoveries, whilst at the same time building on the historical links between Swansea and Wuhan.”

Nick Whittingham, Consul General of the British Consulate in Wuhan, said, “The Centre provides exciting opportunities for more wide-ranging medical research, clinical, and educational collaborations between the U.K. and China.”

Please read more here.