On 20 November, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming had a video call with John Le Fondré, UK Chief Minister of Jersey, and exchanged views with him on China-UK relationship and cooperation between China and Jersey.

Ambassador Liu said, as the COVID-19 pandemic is now continuing to spread, it has posed severe challenges to mankind, which proves once again that the world is an interconnected village. The concept of a community with a shared future of mankind proposed by President Xi Jinping conforms to the trend of the times and has been widely recognized by the international community. This year, China and the UK have been supporting each other in tackling the pandemic, and the scientists of the two countries have been working closely on the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines and medicines. Currently, China has basically brought the pandemic under control within its border, and life and the economy are steadily getting back to normal. China is also accelerating the new “dual circulation” development paradigm, with domestic market as the mainstay and domestic and international markets reinforcing each other. This will create more opportunities for all countries, including the UK. As the exchanges and cooperation at sub-national level between China and the UK become an important pillar in China-UK relations, Ambassador Liu hoped that Jersey will leverage its own strength, take an active part in such mechanisms as China-UK Regional Leaders’ Summit and expand cooperation in FinTech, green finance, tourism, education, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges with China.

Chief Minister Le Fondré said, the COVID-19 pandemic in Jersey is overall controllable at the moment. He thanked China for its support and assistance to Jersey to contain the virus. In recent years, Jersey has continued to deepen its cooperation with China in financial services and education. In post-Brexit and post-pandemic era, Jersey will give full play to its strength in financial service to increase the quality of and to upgrade its cooperation with China, expand exports of quality products to China, such as dairy and shellfish products, and welcome more Chinese tourists to Jersey.