On 17 July 2023, H.E. Ambassador Zheng Zeguang attended in Leeds the "China-Northern England Cooperation Forum" held by China Chamber of Commerce in the UK and the China-Britain Business Council and delivered a keynote speech.
Ambassador Zheng expressed warm congratulations to the forum, and commended the forum for building a new platform and creating new opportunities for economic and trade cooperation between China and northern England. He pointed out that in the face of the sluggish global economy and complex external environment, China's economy as a whole showed a positive trend of recovery in the first half of this year with its GDP grow by 5.5% year-on-year, significantly faster than the growth of other major economies in the world. He noted that China has a strong political leadership, stable and consistent policies, the world’s most complete industrial structure, abundant human resources, and a huge market, adding that committed to the Chinese path to modernisation, China is expanding high-level opening up and advancing green transition and high-quality development. He said that the sound fundamentals sustaining China's long-term economic growth remain changed and this will continue to provide positive energy for world peace and development.
Ambassador Zheng pointed out that the Chinese and British economies are highly complementary, and strengthening cooperation is in the interests of both sides. He said that the two countries need to act on the principle of mutual benefit and explore new areas of cooperation. The Chinese side opposes the UK's discriminatory practice of restricting investment from Chinese companies. The two countries should provide each other's companies with a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment, and create more platforms for business cooperation. Northern England and Leeds have advantages in high-end manufacturing, financial services, medicine, education and the creative sector. There is great potential for cooperation between China and Northern England.
Ambassador Zheng expressed hope that the British business community will embrace President Xi Jinping’s proposal in his congratulatory letter to the event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the "Icebreaking Mission" in China-UK trade, carry on the spirit of openness and cooperation and the great vision of icebreakers, break new ground for win-win collaboration, and deliver yet more benefits to the people of China and the UK.
The forum was hosted by CCCUK Chairman Fang Wenjian. Phil Witcherley, Director of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Claire Urry, Chief Commercial Officer of CBBC, and over 10 Chinese and British business leaders delivered remarks at the forum. About 50 representatives of Chinese and British companies attended the event.
