Regional-level ties and hydrogen energy industry offer new paths, forums heard

There is great potential for collaboration between China and the United Kingdom at the regional level and in sectors involving high-quality development, senior government officials and business leaders said during two forums held in Manchester this past week.

The 6th China-UK Economic and Trade Forum, one of the major annual gatherings in the UK for businesspeople involved in bilateral trade and investment between the two nations, was held by the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK on Wednesday.

Themed on openness and cooperation, the forum attracted more than 200 representatives from a wide range of companies and organizations who discussed new pathways for China-UK business collaboration.

In his keynote speech, China's Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang said that despite a complicated and daunting external environment, China has been advancing its modernization through a Chinese path and pursuing high-quality development, and the economy has been steadily recovering and improving since the COVID-19 pandemic.

China saw its GDP grow by 5.2 percent year-on-year in the first three financial quarters of this year. The International Monetary Fund raised its projections for China's economy in early November, saying it is set to grow by 5.4 percent this year after a strong post-pandemic recovery.

"More importantly, China's economic growth is now higher value-added and greener," Zheng said.

He also said new-energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products have become the new icons of Chinese exports and that the total exports of these products during the first three quarters had expanded by 41.7 percent.

Steady development

During the past decade, China-UK economic and trade cooperation has steadily developed and the total trade volume has doubled, from around 50 billion pounds ($63 billion) in 2013 to more than 100 billion pounds last year.

Zheng noted that local economic and trade cooperation is part and parcel of overall China-UK relations, and that China is now Greater Manchester's third-largest trading partner.

"More and more Chinese enterprises are turning their eyes to investment and business opportunities in this part of the UK. More and more cooperation projects are rolling out in infrastructure, urban upgrading and net zero … I hope we can strengthen the links at the local level," he said. "The two sides can seize opportunities, harness key projects, synergize development strategies, and tap comparative advantages, so we can expand our converging interests and deliver more tangible outcomes."

UK Minister of Business and Trade Dominic Johnson emphasized the importance of bringing down barriers, ending protections and encouraging free trade and investment.

"I was very aware of the need for me to play my part in that, which is why I have done everything I can to ensure that we have a strong commercial relationship with China, so that our businesses can succeed in China and Chinese businesses can succeed and invest in the UK," he said.

During the forum's panel session, business leaders from companies in sectors, including renewable energy, home appliances, finance and healthcare, discussed the strengths of Northern England's industries and the collaboration opportunities in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

On Thursday, Zheng also attended a forum on hydrogen energy cooperation organized by China's Consulate General in Manchester, the UK National Committee on China and the Manchester China Forum.

Participants discussed hydrogen investment and opportunities in Greater Manchester and stressed continuing dialogues with Wuhan in Central China's Hubei province, to explore cooperation potential for green hydrogen demonstration projects after the two cities signed a memorandum of understanding on exchange and cooperation in the hydrogen industry last April.

xingyi@chinadaily.com.cn