On 19^th January, the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK successfully held the “CCCUK Annual Conference & Celebration of the 20^th Anniversary of CCCUK” online event. More than 200 participants attended, including CCCUK members, executives, and staff of Chinese and British enterprises in the UK.

H.E. ZHENG Zeguang, Chinese Ambassador to the UK; BAO Ling, Minister of the Chinese Embassy in the UK; FANG Wenjian, Chairman of the CCCUK and General Manager of Bank of China London Branch; Stephen Perry, Chairman of the 48 Group Club; and Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, Chair of China-Britain Business Council and Group Head of Public Affairs, HSBC Holdings plc, attended the event and delivered keynote speeches.

Photo 1: Group photo of speakers

To further gather strength and motivation for advancement, the CCCUK commended a group of companies that have made outstanding contributions to China-UK economic and trade cooperation. During the event, the CCCUK released the “The 20th Anniversary Album of the Development Achievements of Chinese Enterprises in the UK” and “Twenty in the Prime – Dialogue with the Executives of Chinese Enterprises in the UK” to better demonstrate its substantial achievements in the past 20 years and present memorable stories of Chinese enterprises in the UK, and better publicize Chinese enterprises’ positive image to the UK communities.

Promoting the Vigorous Development of Chinese Enterprises from a New Starting Point

Photo 2: H.E. ZHENG Zeguang, Chinese Ambassador to the UK, delivering a keynote speech

At the event, H.E. ZHENG Zeguang, Chinese Ambassador to the UK, fully affirmed CCCUK’s contribution in the past 20 years in actively promoting Chinese companies to invest in the UK, helping Chinese companies find local partners and supporting British companies to explore the Chinese market. In the past year, China has made new achievements in high-quality development and China-UK economic and trade cooperation has made new progress. In the face of uncertain factors, Ambassador Zheng believes that businesses of the two countries should grasp the general trend of development, strengthen their confidence in cooperation, and maintain open channels for dialogue. He affirms that the business circles of the two countries would uphold the spirit of “icebreakers”, strengthen pragmatic cooperation in traditional and new fields, and create new highlights of cooperation. He further expressed the UK government should uphold the spirit of free trade and WTO rules, and provide a fair, just, and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese businesses here in this country. The Ambassador hopes that CCCUK, the 48 Group Club and CBBC will continue playing a positive role and build better bridges and platforms for dialogue and cooperation between the companies of our two countries Chinese Embassy in the UK will continue to provide facilitation and support in business cooperation between the two countries.

Photo 3： FANG Wenjian, Chairman of the CCCUK and General Manager of Bank of China London Branch, delivered the welcome speech

FANG Wenjian, Chairman of the CCCUK expressed his gratitude to the Chinese embassy in the UK, members of the CCCUK and its British partners for their strong support during the past 20 years. He highlighted that the CCCUK will stay positive, continue to serve its members, and promote China-UK relations. He expressed that regardless of the prevailing political, economic, or social climate, CCCUK will always remain dedicated to that effort. He states that 2022 will be a much better year for us to turn dreams into reality. CCCUK is ready to further enhance its work and play a bigger and more important role in facilitating China-UK cooperation.

Photo 4: Speech by Stephen Perry, Chairman of the 48 Group Club

In his keynote speech, Stephen Perry, chairman of the 48 Group Club gave high praise to the major achievements China has made since its reform and opening up. He believes that China is becoming more powerful under the guidance of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the 2035 Vision. He retrospected the history of development, exchanges and cooperation between the 48 Group Club and the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK. He further affirmed the important role the CCCUK has played in promoting the development of China-UK economic and trade in the past 20 years and expressed his appreciation for CCCUK to further promote the development of China-UK friendly relations in the new era. The cooperation between the 48 Group Club and China has gone through 70 years of ups and downs. He stated that while we are face challenges, he firmly believes the relationship between the two countries will overcome resistance and push forward. The 48 Group Club will always be China’s partner, providing support for China-UK economic and trade cooperation.

Photo 5: Speech by Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, Chair of China-Britain Business Council, Group Head of Public Affairs, HSBC Holdings plc

In his keynote speech, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, Chair of China-Britain Business Council, Group Head of Public Affairs, HSBC Holdings plc, fully affirmed CCCUK’s achievements in promoting economic and trade cooperation and exchanges between China and the UK over the past 20 years. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles emphasized that Chinese enterprises in the UK have made important contributions to the economic and social development in the UK. He highlighted that both China and the UK have highly innovative companies. Chinese companies in the UK have cooperated with local high quality companies, research institutions and universities to carry out many commendable projects, with fruitful results and mounting highlights. The British business community has always believed that sustainable development under a healthy and stable relationship is in the common interests of both sides and has important strategic significance. The China Business Council is willing to strengthen communication and exchanges with the CCCUK and join hands to expand in a mutually beneficial way, so as to contribute to the healthy and stable development of UK-China relations.

Photo 6: BAO Ling, Minister of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, gave a closing speech

In her closing speech, Madam Bao Ling, Minister of the Chinese Embassy to the UK sent her congratulations to the CCCUK for its achievements in the past 20 years and also to the winners of the “CCCUK Outstanding Achievement Award”. Madam Bao said that over the past 20 years, with the support of member companies, the CCCUK has continued to expand, delivered outstanding achievements, and grown into a cohesive and socially responsible association. She encouraged the Chamber to lead Chinese enterprises in the UK to strengthen cooperation in green development, to create a platform for business communication between China and the UK, to tell worthy stories of economic cooperation between the two countries, and actively contribute to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-UK ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations. The Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in the UK will continue to support Chinese enterprises in the UK to carry out various businesses and contribute to economic and trade cooperation between the UK and China.

 

Conveying the Power of a Role Model, 14 Companies Won Awards

Over the years, Chinese enterprises in the UK have worked hard, made positive progress, promoted growth, deeply cultivated in the local market, and continued to promote China-UK mutually beneficial cooperation. Chinese companies in the UK have actively practiced corporate social responsibility, told the Chinese story of the new era, and contributed to the win-win development of China UK economic and trade relations.

At the event, five awards “2021 CCCUK Outstanding Achievement Awards” were presented, in recognition of the unremitting efforts and outstanding contributions of enterprises to the development and cooperation of China-UK economic and trade development. It is reported that many Chinese enterprises in the UK participated in the evaluation. After several rounds of evaluations by the organizing committee, the projects of 14 enterprises were awarded. Among them, China Construction Bank London Branch, BYD (UK)Ltd. and CENTI Group (China Europe Network of Technology and Innovation) won the “China-UK Business Cooperation Award”; China Huaneng Group Hong Kong Limited, General Nuclear International Ltd and Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd. won “Green Cooperation Award”; Industrial and Commercial Bank of China London Branch, Bank of China London Branch, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank London Branch won “Green Finance Award”; China Unicom (Europe) Operations Limited, China Mobile International (UK) Limited and China Telecom (Europe) Limited won “Technology Innovation Award”; Air China Limited and COSCO Shipping (UK) Co., Ltd. won “Social Responsibility Award”.

Photo 7: “2021 CCCUK Outstanding Achievement Awards” Ceremony

H.E. ZHENG Zeguang, Chinese Ambassador to the UK; BAO Ling, Minister of the Chinese Embassy in the UK; FANG Wenjian, Chairman of the CCCUK and General Manager of Bank of China London Branch; Stephen Perry, Chairman of the 48 Group Club; and Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, Chair of China-Britain Business Council, Group Head of Public Affairs, HSBC Holdings plc, presented awards to the award-winning enterprises respectively. Representatives of 14 enterprises shared their award-winning speeches online.

 

Forging Ahead for 20 Years, Writing the New Chapter

China Chamber of Commerce in the UK has grown rapidly since its establishment 20 years ago, with nearly 300 members, it has gradually become an important force supporting the development of Chinese enterprises in the UK. The CCCUK has always been committed to building a firm bridge for deepening China-UK communication and cooperation, sowing the seeds of cooperation with Chinese enterprises in the UK, and reaping the accomplishments of development together.

Photo 8：CCCUK’S Achievements in 2021 & Prospect of 2022

FANG Wenjian, Chairman of the CCCUK and General Manager of Bank of China London Branch, summarised the work of the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK in 2021 and highlighted its outlook for 2022. He emphasized that with the care and support of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, the standing committee closely focused on the priorities of the CCCUK and worked hard to promote and implement various important tasks. Despite the impact of the pandemic, CCCUK maintained a strong platform and actively promoted China-UK economic and trade cooperation. Through various China-UK exchanges, the CCCUK told China stories, showcased the remarkable achievements of Chinese enterprises in the UK, and actively endorsed the preservation of a sound business environment for Chinese enterprises in the UK. While serving its members, the CCCUK actively fulfilled its social responsibilities together with its partners. Chairman Fang pointed out 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations between China and the UK. In the new year, CCCUK will continue to play a role as a bridge to promote China-UK exchanges and cooperation, further integrate resources, deepen exchanges between members across the UK, and work hard to provide members with more professional and three-dimensional services.

Photo 9: “The 20th Anniversary Album of the CCCUK” was released

Participants also watched the online version of the “The 20th Anniversary Album of the Development Achievements of Chinese Enterprises in the UK”, the 20th anniversary achievement exhibition of the CCCUK and the official release video of “Twenty in the Prime – Dialogue with the Executives of Chinese Enterprises in the UK”. These videos vividly demonstrated the development history of the CCCUK and the achievements of Chinese enterprises in the UK.

Photo 10: Twenty in the Prime – Dialogue with the Executives of Chinese Enterprises in the UK” was released

The event was a complete success. All the guests expressed that they will, as always, make concerted efforts to promote the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the UK, and constantly create new cooperation highlights. The vigorous development of China-UK economic and trade cooperation has injected new vitality and energy.