On 8 February 2019, the City of London and the CCCUK jointly organized the Chinese New Year’s Celebration for the “China-UK Charity” at the mayor’s residence. Welcome guests who attended the celebration included H.E. Ambassador, LIU Xiaoming and his wife, Alderman Peter Estlin, Mayor of the City of London and his wife, FANG Wenjian, Chairman of the CCCUK and President of Bank of China London Branch, John McLean OBE, Head of China Group of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal, etc. Nearly 300 guests from the political and business communities of China and the UK, the members of the CCCUK, and the members of associated chambers of commerce and associations gathered together to celebrate the Chinese New Year, build the bridge between China and the UK for the common good, and shape a bright future for China and the UK.

At the end of 2018, the City of London and the CCCUK jointly launched the “China-UK Charity” Initiative, created a charity platform, and officially held a Kick-off ceremony for lifted the curtain on the long pong-term series of public welfare activities. As one of the series of activities for the “China-UK Charity”, the Chinese New Year’s Celebration will continue to guarantee that “China and the UK work together to build harmony for the public good”, and will draw together various forces with poverty alleviation as the principal objective to contribute to the China-UK charity.

Picture 1: Group photo of VIP guests and event sponsors

Charity funds were raised through auctions and lotteries at the site of activity; half of the money raised will be used to support China’s Poverty Alleviation Project under the China-UK Charity, and the other half will be used for the charity project under the Lord Mayor’s Appeal (LMA). The said poverty alleviation project of China subsidized the construction of a multi-functional hall in a poor school in Shaanxi Province for centralized training, theatrical performances and remote video teaching, etc. The charity project of the UK comprised children’s mental health, poverty alleviation for youth, adolescent suicide intervention, etc.

Picture 2: H.E. Ambassador, LIU Xiaoming and Alderman Peter Estlin, Mayor of the City of London lifted the curtain on the activity

Alderman Peter Estlin, Co-Chair of the China-UK Charity Initiative and Mayor of the City of London mentioned in his welcome speech that it was the first extensive collection after the launch of the China-UK Charity Initiative last December. The success of the event would not have been possible without the increasingly closed tight economic and trade cooperation between China and the UK. To further promote the exchange between the City of London and China, he will lead a delegation to visit China next month to seek cooperation between China and the UK in fintech, information technology, asset management, etc. He stressed that a Chinese idiom reading “it’s difficult to achieve anything without support” indicates that a man by himself seldom succeeds. Charity activities also need to pool the strength of various parties; the “China-UK Charity” series of activities vividly embodied the spirit of solidarity and cooperation. He would like to take the opportunity of the Chinese New Year to thank everyone for their support, looking forward to the China-UK cooperation for a better environment for local communities in China and Britain.

H.E. Ambassador, LIU Xiaoming delivered a keynote speech titled “Kindness with love, cooperation with heart”. In his speech, he commended the performance and high efficiency of the CCCUK and the team of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal, hoping that the “China-UK Charity” Initiative would make persistent efforts to be a catalyst for China-UK charity cooperation, a stabilizer for economic cooperation, and an adhesive for people-to-people exchange; moreover, it was hoped that the Initiative would inject new vitality into the development of public welfare undertakings in both countries, open up new channels for the two nations to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and build a new bridge to spread love and promote friendship.

Picture 3: FANG Wenjian, Co-Chair of the “China-UK Charity” Initiative and Chairman of the CCCUK delivering a speech

 FANG Wenjian, Co-Chair of the “China-UK Charity” Initiative and Chairman of the CCCUK expressed particular gratitude to the current and former Mayors of the City of London and the team staff for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal in his speech; thanks to their unremitting efforts, we are now enjoying a more inclusive, healthy, quality and equitable environment. According to him, the CCCUK would keep on cooperating with the City of London and performing its social responsibility; besides, the CCCUK would encourage more enterprises to participate in charitable activities and make greater contribution to the China-UK economic and trade exchanges and giving back to the local community.

Picture 4: At the meeting site

A warm and lively atmosphere was present An animated atmosphere was observed on the evening of the event; the guests not only participated in the charity auction and enjoyed the wonderful performances of the charity organizations. The event raised approx. 37,000 pounds in donations.