Speaking at the event, Vice-Mayor of Tianjin Zhai Lixin highlighted the solid foundation of cooperation between the city and the UK.

The import and export trade between the two sides reached 1.493 billion pounds ($1.99 billion) in 2024, a 7 percent year-on-year increase, he said, adding that the UK has also, to date, established a total of 523 foreign-funded enterprises in Tianjin, with a cumulative actual investment of $3.38 billion.

"China remains committed to expanding high-standard opening-up," said Zhai. "China, in the past, present, and the future, has been, and will continue to be, an attractive and reliable investment destination for foreign businesses.

"I believe that the prospects for cooperation between Tianjin and the UK are broad, and we look forward to deepening collaboration in areas such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, clean energy, finance, trade, and smart cities."

China's Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang also highlighted in his keynote speech the country's commitment to opening up to the world, noting that China's overall tariff level has been reduced to 7.3 percent and that the negative list for market access will be further shortened.

Despite facing US "trade bullying", China's economic performance has demonstrated strong resilience and internal momentum in early 2025, with GDP growing by 5.4 percent year-on-year, retail sales of consumer goods rising by 4.6 percent, the value-added industrial output increasing by 6.5 percent, and exports up by 6.9 percent in the first quarter, Zheng said.

"In China, what investors will find is predictable and consistent macro policies, a supersize market of over 1.4 billion people, the most complete industrial system in the world, and an increasingly internationalized, market-oriented and law-based business environment…Now is the best time to invest in China," he said.

The ambassador also welcomed the recent positive momentum in Sino-British relations, highlighted by a series of high-level bilateral visits, while also firmly rejecting the disruptive rhetoric of some anti-China politicians who have smeared Chinese enterprises operating in the UK and disparaged Chinese investment.

"Indeed, it will be foolish not to engage with China," he said. "China is the world's second-largest economy, the second-biggest consumer market, and the biggest manufacturer and trader in goods. China needs the world. The world also needs China."