The ‘Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): UK-China Cooperation and Opportunities’ Seminar was held in Guangzhou on July 13 after one was wrapped up in Shenzhen the day before.
Organized by the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC), the seminar aims to discuss and outline opportunities for cooperations between China and UK under the BRI. It was attended by officers from the UK and Guangdong governments, and attracted representatives from major enterprises of two countries, such as ABP, PWC and KPMG.
David Bull, Deputy Director of China Advanced Manufacturing & Transport and HM Consul, Trade and Investment , UK Trade & Investment delivering a speech
Ma Hua, Deputy Director General of Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, in the CBBC’s seminar [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
Ma Hua, Deputy Director General of Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, said Guangdong attaches great importance to the cooperation with UK in various fields and he hopes the seminar could deepen cooperation between two countries under the B&R framework.
“Guangdong saw nearly $1 billion UK investment in 2016,” said Ma Hua, “in the meantime, UK is increasingly attractive to Guangdong enterprises and investors. Renowned enterprises including China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company, Country Garden and Huawei have already settled their investment projects in UK.”
Jeff Astle, Excutive Director China of CBBC, in the seminar [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
Jeff Astle, Excutive Director China of CBBC, then outlined major sectors which show opportunities for China-UK cooperation under the B&R framework based on a report jointly developed by CBBC and Chinese Academy Of International Trade And Economic Cooperation.
“We see opportunities in a wide range of sectors, such as infrastructure, professional services, energy, tourism and science,” said Jeff Astle, “and Guangdong government has been encouraging local enterprises to invest in the BRI in recent years. For example, the province is integrating its ports including the Guangzhou Port into a world’s leading port cluster. These investment projects will benefit the China-UK cooperation in multiple fields in the future.”
Besides, the seminar invited representatives from Sanpower Group, Atkins, ABP Royal Albert Dock London to share their projects experience under the B&R framework, elaborating their cooperation models and outcomes.
It also organized discussions on topical issues, such as advantage complementarity for UK-China cooperation, financing, HR issue and risk management for Belt and Road projects.
A special thank you to the sponsors for the event – ABP Royal Albert Dock London, Atkins, and Sanpower Group
