On 17 June 2019, Chinese Vice Premier HU Chunhua and UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond co-chaired the 10th China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue in London. During the Dialogue, Chinese and British business communities jointly hosted a dinner to welcome Vice Premier HU Chunhua and his delegation. The dinner was sponsored by the China’s Ministry of Commerce and Department for International Trade, United Kingdom, specially supported by Chinese Embassy in the UK, and jointly hosted by the CCCUK, China-Britain Business Council, and The 48 Group Club. Present at the dinner were Chancellor Philip Hammond, H.E. Ambassador LIU Xiaoming, FANG Wenjian, President of the CCCUK; Lord Sassoon, President of the China-Britain Business Council, and nearly 300 guests from the Chinese and British business communities.

Photo 1. Group photo of some distinguished guests

Photo 2: Chinese Vice Premier HU Chunhua delivers a keynote speech

Vice Premier HU Chunhua delivered a keynote speech at the dinner. He hailed the 10th China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue for injecting new momentum into China-UK cooperation, bringing more tangible benefits to the Chinese and British companies, and promoting the development of China-UK Golden Era. Amid the shift form high-speed growth into high-quality development, China’s main tasks are to deepen structural reform to promote the optimization and transformation of the economic structure, he said. China is still a developing country, despite the great achievements it has made over the years, the Vice Premier stressed. At present, China still ranks low in the world in per capita GDP and disposable income. Faced with the difference in urban and rural development and development gap between east and west, the Chinese government is taking active measures to effectively tackle the issues. He said China will remain committed to opening up and deepening reform and opening-up. The UK is one of China’s most important economic and trade partners. Whatever the future relationship between the UK and the EU, China will remain determined and confident in deepening cooperation with the UK. He welcomed the British businesses to invest and operate in China, encouraging Chinese businesses to develop in Britain. Hailing the CCCUK for its contributions to the friendly China-UK cooperation, he hoped for the CCCUK to continue to promote China-UK cooperation, and usher in a brighter tomorrow for China-UK business relations.

Photo 3. Chancellor Philip Hammond delivers a keynote speech

Chancellor Philip Hammond said, the 10th China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue marks the beginning of a new decade, further promoting the friendship and cooperation between the two countries. Since the inauguration of the Dialogue, bilateral investment has quadrupled, making the UK the first destination for Chinese direct investment in Europe, he said. Amid China’s economic transition, the UK can offer China with full help and support in financial, legal, and professional services. He believed the Belt and Road projects have great potential to improve the global economic infrastructure and realize the sustainable development goals, and that the UK will become the most appropriate partner of China in its next stage of development. The past 10 years have seen the Dialogue contribute greatly to the bilateral friendship and cooperation. The Shanghai-London Stock Connect will further advance the financial cooperation between the two countries. Appreciating the deeper consensus for cooperation reached in this Dialogue, he looked forward to an even more glorious decade in the China-UK Golden Era.

Photo 4: Lord Sassoon delivers a speech

Lord Sassoon, Chairman of the China Britain Business Council, said, since 2008, Chinese enterprises in the UK have made remarkable progress in their development in the UK, and a growing number of British companies start to do business with China. With London becoming the world’s largest offshore trading centre for the renminbi, British companies enjoy leading advantages in China’s financial market and auto industry. Despite the “transition period” of the UK, he is always greatly confident in China-UK relations after Brexit. British companies are keenly aware of the opportunities and potential created by Chinese enterprises and investment. He hoped that more British companies will enter the Chinese market in the future. And it was also his hope that the UK will provide more development opportunities for Chinese enterprises, jointly deepening China-UK cooperation on the Belt and Road projects.

Photo 5: FANG Wenjian, the Chairman of the CCCUK, delivers a speech

Chairman FANG said, given the uncertainties clouding the world and the UK, the Dialogue itself represents an inspiring achievement. Over the past 10 years, the Dialogue has proved an inexhausted source of power for the development of bilateral relations, bringing height after height to the bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation. The successful decade has demonstrated that, with both sides committed to the principle of “mutual trust, mutual assistance, communication and coordination”, challenges can be overcome and common development be achieved. The Chairman pointed out that, given the limited size of Chinese enterprises in the UK, which means huge space and potential for further development, hopefully they can make friends with all walks of life in the UK, get involved in the local community, and provide new vitality for the development of all sectors in the UK. Chinese enterprises have the ability and confidence to make more contributions to the UK. The Chairman concluded his speech by saying that with mutual trust and friendly cooperation, China-UK business cooperation will yield more new results.

Photo 6. UK-China business dinner

At the dinner alive with animated atmosphere, people from all walks of life in China and the UK expressed their confidence in the future development of the two countries in the new era, their wish to promote exchanges between Chinese and British enterprises in the year when China-UK Golden Era was registering accelerated growth, and their resolve to actively participate in China-UK cooperation in various fields for more “golden fruits”.