The expansion of China's domestic consumption in the next five years, especially in the services sector, will create huge opportunities for Sino-British business cooperation, said Ma Jiantang, a senior economist and political advisor, at a briefing in London on Thursday.

Ma holds a PhD in economics and has long been involved in China's economic policy-making, including working as the director of the National Bureau of Statistics, and deputy-chief of the Development Research Center of the State Council.

He currently serves as a member of the standing committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Conference, which is China's top political advisory body.

At Thursday's event, Ma provided an in-depth explanation of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), which draws up the blueprint of the country's focus on economic and social development for the next five years, and was adopted in March by China's top legislature, the National People's Congress.

During the next five-year period, China will continue to put economic development as its central task with a 4.5 to 5 percent GDP growth, said Ma.

"The sustainable and stable growth of such a large economy will be a major contribution to the world's economy," he said, adding that China's GDP in 2025 stands at around 14 trillion yuan ($2.05 trillion).

China will focus on further opening market access to foreign companies, especially in its service sector. Ma referred to the 15th Five-Year Plan, saying that it will create a very big market for service providers from the United Kingdom.

"The UK's strengths in finance, professional service, tourism, education and creative industry dovetail with China's plan to upgrade its people's consumption, which will become a key area for bilateral cooperation," said Ma.

Among the audience was Jonathan Geldart, the director-general of the Institute of Directors.

"It's wonderful to hear that China will seize the opportunity of services as the UK has been the bastion of expertise in the service industries for generations," he said. "I see enormous opportunities to collaborate with more and more Chinese companies to come to the UK."

Mark Logan, a former member of parliament in the UK, said, "We have seen an evolution of Chinese industry moving up the value chain and engaging more with high-value industry, and that's where the UK and China can benefit from bilateral cooperation."

Zheng Zeguang, China's ambassador to the UK, said that China is working closely with the UK to prepare new rounds of strategic dialogues, and both sides hope to see faster progress in the establishment of a bilateral service partnership and a service trade agreement.

"All in all, we should join hands to maintain a positive momentum in China-UK relations, and to bring more tangible benefits to the people in both countries," said Zheng.

The event was jointly held by the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK and the China-Britain Business Council, and drew more than 150 representatives from the governments, business communities, and academia in the UK.