Madam Shen Yongfang,

Mr Lu Jian,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to attend the Fashion Shenzhen event as part of the London Fashion Week. On behalf of my husband Ambassador Liu Xiaoming, I wish to warmly welcome the delegation from Shenzhen and offer my congratulations on the Fashion Shenzhen event.

London was listed in August as the world's number three fashion capital by the New York-based Global Language Monitor. As one of the "big four" fashion weeks in the world, the London Fashion Week is famous for its diversity and creativity, and for being a cradle for promising young designers. This is the third year for Shenzhen to join the London Fashion Week. I believe Shenzhen's participation is important in many ways.

First, Shenzhen is a known for its innovative capacity. It is a fore-runner of China's reform and opening-up. It just celebrated the 30th year of its Special Economic Zone status earlier this month. People talk about the Shenzhen Miracle, as it was transformed from a fishing village to a modern big city in just 30 years time. Bold innovation has made this miracle possible, the same innovation that is crucial to the fashion industry.

Secondly, Shenzhen leads the fashion and creative industries in China, in terms of research, development and design, with an output value of 13 billion pounds in 2009, half of which came from export. Shenzhen is now working hard to build itself into a fashion and creative capital not just in China but also in the world. Joining top international fashion weeks can help Shenzhen to showcase its fashion industry and learn more about UK and global market trends.

Thirdly, fashion is an important window on the Chinese culture. It is not just about fabric or style. It also embodies a nation's culture. Today's event is a good opportunity to introduce to the British public the rich and splendid Chinese culture and the modern spirit of China. It helps the fashion industries of the two countries to forge closer links.

This event is also part of China's drive to go from "made in China" to "designed in China" and to "created in China" in the fashion industry. This will also contribute to greater mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples.

To conclude, I wish the event a complete success and wish all of you an enjoyable evening.

Thank you.