Please find a short overview of SW China and opportunities for UK and international business in this vibrant, diverse region of mainland China:
Download SW China Briefing March 22
Our thanks to the British Consulate in Chongqing for kindly sharing this information.
Dear CBI members and Partners,
Please review the latest environmental news digest from China Dialogue below.
Download News digest China Dialogue 03-07 May 2021
For more reports, interviews and insights into a country shaping the world please review China Dialogue directly here.
With grateful thanks to the team at China Dialogue for so very kindly sharing.
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.
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: press.o[email protected] Follow the CBI (@CBItweets) and CBI China (@CBIBEIJING) on Twitter.
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
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.
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.
