On 21 November 2024, H.E. Ambassador Zheng Zeguang attended the 7th China-UK Economic and Trade Forum and delivered a keynote speech titled "Seizing New Opportunities and Breaking New Ground through Cooperation" at invitation. Over 400 guests from the British government, as well as business, academia and other sectors of China and the UK, including Poppy Gustafsson, Minister for Investment of the Department for Business and Trade, Fang Wenjian, Chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK, Jennifer Saifi, CEO of the UK Sustainable Markets Initiative, and Jack Perry, Chairman of the 48 Group Club, joined the event.
Ambassador Zheng Zeguang pointed out that transformation of a scale unseen in a century is accelerating across the world. Global growth is anemic, geopolitics is volatile, and unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise. All responsible countries should work together to uphold multilateralism and the international trading system, to keep the global industrial and supply chains stable and smooth, and to promote peace, stability and cooperation.
Ambassador Zheng noted that President Xi Jinping delivered important remarks while attending the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the G20 Summit, sending out a powerful message to the world that China will continue to deepen comprehensive reform, expand high-standard opening up, pursue high-quality development, share development opportunities with the world, and uphold international cooperation and solidarity, which has received warm and positive response from the international community.
China's development is driven by reform, innovative and green growth, openness and cooperation, and provides shared opportunities for win-win outcomes. We have full confidence in China’s modernisation. Over the past 45 years, China’s average annual contribution to world economic growth has been 24.8%, ranking first in the world, and China will continue to be the largest contributor to global growth in the next five years.
Ambassador Zheng pointed out that when meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, President Xi Jinping stressed that China and the UK should stick to the positioning of strategic partnership, adhere to mutual respect, openness and cooperation, and exchanges and mutual learning, strive for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, and jointly write the next chapter in the sound and stable development of China-UK relations. The working teams of the two sides should strive in the same direction and follow up on the common understanding between the two leaders.
The two sides should launch a new round of Economic and Financial Dialogue as well as dialogue in other areas, strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, clean energy, financial services, and medical services, expand collaboration in AI, green development, technology, culture, education, and tourism, and encourage businesses to explore third-party market cooperation. The two sides should work together to create a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for cooperation between their enterprises, synergise their development strategies, and promote market connectivity. And the two sides must uphold the WTO-centered multilateral trading system, and oppose unilateralism and protectionism.
It is hoped that the business communities of the two countries will seize the opportunities, jointly break new ground in China-UK economic and trade cooperation, and make new contributions to the steady, substantial and enduring development of the bilateral relations.
Minister Gustafsson said in his speech that this Labour government takes economic growth as its top priority and will support eight growth driving sectors, in which the UK excels, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, creative industries, and business services. He hoped that the British and Chinese business communities will strengthen engagement and communication, and that the UK and China will drive growth together and realize a more prosperous future for both countries.
Fang Wenjian, Chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK, and Jennifer Saifi, CEO of the UK Sustainable Markets Initiative, delivered remarks, and Alastair King, Lord Mayor of the City of London, and Ma Jun, Chinese Chairman of the China-UK Green Finance Working Group, gave video speeches at the event. They spoke highly of the fruitful economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, and expressed their willingness to continue to promote mutually beneficial cooperation.
At the Forum, which themed "Finance empowers global economic growth and Jointly explores new opportunities for China-UK cooperation" and "Innovation-driven and sustainable development, jointly shaping a new future in the era of science and technology", the guests explored new opportunities, new paths and new methods for China-UK economic and trade cooperation and had in-depth exchanges of views in a warm atmosphere.
