BritCham China is excited to be back in London for our annual outreach trip to the UK. Having just published our sixth Position Paper in May, our delegation of business leaders and Chamber representatives from across China look forward to engaging with leaders from across business, policy, and academia last week.
As the voice of UK businesses operating in China, the British Chamber is excited to be meeting with the UK government and other stakeholders in the UK-China business space, to discuss challenges, opportunities, providing fact-based insights from on-the-ground perspective in the China market. Our focus is on providing perspectives on the realities of doing business in China, the evolving macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape, and how these factors impact businesses on the ground.
随着中国英国商会《在华英国企业：建议书2024》的发布，上周中国英国商会进行了为期一周的伦敦之行，这是我们自2019年以来的第三次商会代表团之行。
June 24 —— Day 1
01 Chinese Ambassador to the UK HE Zheng Zeguang
中国驻英国大使郑泽光
For our first meeting of the trip, the delegation had the privilege of meeting Ambassador Zheng Zeguang at the Chinese Embassy in London. The discussions focused on a range of critical topics, including mutual opportunities for British and Chinese businesses, China’s economic priorities, and the development of the electric vehicle (EV) sector, as well as issues around overcapacity.
Ambassador Zheng emphasized the pivotal role of the British Chamber in providing on-the-ground perspectives and business insights that are essential for underpinning the bilateral relationship between our nations. Additionally, we discussed the significance of people-to-people connections in strengthening these ties.
02 University of Nottingham Ningbo China’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Engagement Forum
伦敦海外青年创新创业交流活动
Following our meeting with Ambassador Zheng, we attended the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Engagement Forum hosted by one of BritCham’s members, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, at the British Library in London. This event brought together over 50 talented young entrepreneurs and key figures from the Ningbo Science & Technology Bureau to discuss cutting-edge technological research and explore opportunities for international cooperation in business and innovation, including promoting the universities’ new incubators in Nottingham and Ningbo.
We were delighted to engage with some of the brightest minds in innovation and entrepreneurship and discuss opportunities related to strengthened scientific research and entrepreneurial collaboration between the UK and China.
03 HM Treasury 英国财政部
To close out the first day of visits, we were delighted to meet with representatives from HM Treasury. With the Treasury responsible for British economic growth, an area set to be prioritised by the next government, this served as a vital opportunity to share insights from on the ground in China and where there are opportunities for British business.
The Treasury’s large and growing China team discussed what their main priorities have been over the last British government along with where they have looked to engage with business on key areas related to the bilateral. They asked for on the ground insights into how businesses are looking to grow in China along with many of the major issued faced in-market by companies there.
With many predicting a strengthened role for the Treasury in future dialogue with China, this served as an excellent opportunity to introduce them to the Chamber and share how we can support them with perspectives on the ground in the country.
If you’d like to find out more about our advocacy and outreach work, click here to read our Position Paper 2024, or get in touch with us at advocacy@britishchamber.cn.
June 25 —— Day 2
01 Asia House 亚洲之家
To kick off our second day of UK outreach, we met with Asia House – one of the UK’s leading organisations on promoting links between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Founded by three BritCham members – HSBC, Prudential and Standard Chartered – Asia House introduced their research and advisory services in connecting the Middle East and China, as well as information from their annual outlook on the Middle East’s “Pivot to Asia.” With the organisation similarly focused on providing knowledge to businesses and other key stakeholders, we also presented our findings from on the ground in Beijing and across China.
03 Great Britain-China Centre 英中协会
An arms-length body responsible for improving China capabilities across the UK Civil Service, our discussions with Great Britain–China Centre centred on how best to support a growing pipeline of China experts across the UK’s government and business landscapes. BritCham explored how we can support this important knowledge sharing from China, as well as improving and encouraging ongoing visits from leaders across the UK-China bilateral. We also explored how our organisations can work together on improving technical and legal standards for British businesses in China, particularly with the different touchpoints in government between the two organisations.
04 Business roundtable 商会会员圆桌会议
To finish our second day in London, BritCham were delighted to host a closed-door, small-group roundtable with a number of our members’ HQ representatives. BritCham shared a number of their insights from their work in the market with those attending, including the results of our Position Paper 2024 and our work priorities in the coming year. Following the Chamber’s presentation, businesses explained how the Chamber could best support London-based staff with on the ground insights from Beijing, as well as discussing the major issues which hampered business between the UK and China. Thank you to Diageo who hosted the forum at their stunning office in Central London.
To learn more about the Chamber’s advocacy work with British businesses, click here to find out more about our Position Paper 2024 or email us at advocacy@britishchamber.cn.
June 26 —— Day 3
01 Lau China Institute, KCL
伦敦国王学院 中国研究所
A wide-ranging conversation with Professor Kerry Brown and his team at the Lau China Institute provided excellent opportunities for knowledge sharing for both sides. We discussed the state of China studies in the UK, as well as how businesses and collective organisations such as the Chamber can support academic institutions to further their research in China.
02 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
外交联邦及发展事务部
Later on Tuesday, BritCham met with members of the China team at the Foreign Office. Having supported a number of ministerial and official visits over the past year, BritCham is fortunate to enjoy a strong relationship with the FCDO in Beijing and across China; this chance to discuss China issues with teams based in London centred around conveying member concerns directly to government in Britain, including some of the most important issues around market access covered in our Position Paper this year.
03 UK-China Summer Conference
To round off our third day in London, we were delighted to co-host the first ever UK-China Summer Conference. Over 200 attendees joined us and co-hosts Beijing to Britain, IoD China Group and Sino Auto Insights for three expert panels on UK-China relations. After an excellent panel on what the next UK government’s China strategy should be, BritCham then shared some of their insights from Beijing in a special “Briefing for Britain,” with Julian Fisher, Chamber Chair, St. John Moore, Chair Emeritus, and Rachel Tsang, Managing Director. Our Chamber team was also joined by Trey McArver from Trivium China. We shared our perception of the Chinese market for international investors, as well as our own perspective on the most pressing issues facing the UK government following next week’s General Election. A huge thank you to our co-hosts for the evening, and to Steve Lynch, former MD of BritCham China, for MCing the event!
June 28 —— Day 5
01 China Chamber of Commerce in the UK
英国中国商会
A luncheon with the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK (CCCUK) provided an important opportunity to share expertise between our two business organisations, as well as to examine where shared challenges could be tackled by greater cooperation between the two Chambers.
Senior UK-based representatives from China’s largest banks, telecom companies, and other major businesses joined leadership teams from both Chambers for a frank discussion of the challenges faced by businesses on both sides of the bilateral. After BritCham presented this year’s Position Paper and its major findings, we were delighted to hear from Fang Wenjian, CCCUK Chair and Bank of China (London Branch) General Manager on the Chamber’s major market access issues in the UK from their “Annual Survey on Chinese Enterprises in the UK.” BritCham were delighted to support CCCUK in designing the survey and to exchange ideas on survey questions over the previous years.
Many of CCCUK’s findings mirrored those of the British Chamber in China; the Chinese Chamber noted that a “wait and see” attitude had become commonplace among Chinese businesses in the UK due to concerns over the investment landscape and stability of the British market – sentiments that were very similar to those expressed by British businesses over the past few years. Following these presentations, discussion on businesses’ major issues in the UK market followed, as well as an opportunity to discuss how the two organisations may continue to collaborate further in future years.
Thank you to Chairman Fang of the CCCUK, members of the China Chamber of Commerce and the Bank of China for their kind hosting of the event.
Friday marked the final day of our UK Outreach 2024. BritCham members will soon receive a full report outlining the Chamber’s findings from this outward mission to the UK, including deeper analysis of the meetings held during our time in London. For questions on the Chamber’s policy and advocacy work, or to find out more about our Position Paper 2024, get in touch with our advocacy team at advocacy@britishchamber.cn.