Business community strikes confident tone on Britain-China trade relations

Source: China Daily Asia

LONDON - Business leaders projected confidence in Britain-China trade prospects during a recent trade expo held here.

The Global Britain Trade Expo 2024, an expo to promote Britain as a global trade and business destination, took place on Thursday at the Queen Elizabeth II Center in London, with over 800 business leaders, 70 exhibitors and 30 speakers attending.

Jack Wu, managing partner of Acadia Advisory Group, told Xinhua that as a massive market, China is a good place for British companies to invest in, adding that Britain has great innovative companies

"China, in many ways, is a very good place to do business," said Vince Cable, former secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, and leader of the Liberal Democrats.

"It's a very big market, with fantastic infrastructure," said Cable.

James Palmer, chair of the East Powerhouse, cited the example of Geely, a leading Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer which invested billions in Lotus, one of Britain's oldest and most renowned vehicle brands.

"Following huge investment from Geely, Lotus is set to increase its sports car production from 1,500 cars a year in 2018 to over 15,000 cars a year by 2028," Palmer said in his speech at the event.

"With 85 percent of those cars manufactured in the UK heading overseas, Lotus is a prime example of what foreign investment can achieve, and because of international investments, Lotus is able to compete at the highest level," added Palmer.

Many business leaders also noted signs of more future collaboration between the two countries.

Jack Wu, managing partner of Acadia Advisory Group, told Xinhua that as a massive market, China is a good place for British companies to invest in, adding that Britain has great innovative companies.

"Take the elderly-care market as an example, China has a rapidly aging population, while the UK has one of the leading elderly-care industries in the world, and this will become a sector with huge investment potential between the two countries," said Wu.

Other corporate executives in renewable energy also identified significant potential for Chinese investment.

Max Jungmann, CEO of Momentum Novum, told Xinhua that Chinese companies are investing in renewable energy globally, and given the fact that Britain's need for massive capital to transition toward low-carbon or zero-carbon business models, China has considerable potential to contribute not only to Britain but also to other countries.

"China definitely has a competitive advantage in sectors such as solar power, because China is the main player when it comes to photovoltaic modules, which allows many countries and many businesses to invest and have a very quick return of investment when it comes to solar installations," said Jungmann.