Research and analysis

China: Vince Cable strengthens foundations for UK business

Published 5 June 2014

0.1 Detail

Dr Cable began a 6-day visit to mainland China with two days in Guangdong, its wealthiest and most populous Province. A day in Shenzhen was themed around UK engagement with China’s urbanisation. On current trends China’s urban population will hit one billion by 2030. This mass internal migration is generating substantial new markets and investment opportunities as well as huge social and environmental challenges. Dr Cable opened a UK-China Smart Cities Leadership Forum jointly hosted by UKTI and Huawei and launched a new project to pilot smart city development led by Manchester and Bristol city councils. Dr Cable then witnessed the signing of an MOU between the Shenzhen government and the UK’s Building Research Establishment (BRE) to open a new green building academy in Shenzhen.

A day in Guangzhou was themed around UK co-operation with China in education. The centrepiece was a speech to students at Sun Yat Sen University, South China’s premier university, and later a visit to Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) training academy to meet young apprentices. In Guangzhou, Dr Cable also had constructive meetings with senior leaders including Provincial Party Secretary Hu Chunhua who expressed an interest in working with the UK on the proposed Guangdong Free Trade Zone, and the Mayors of both Guangzhou and Shenzhen. He privately met representatives of NGOs working on labour and diversity issues in the workplace, and supported UK exports with site visits with the Essex-based SME Coborn Engineering as well as with JLR.

In his political calls, and in engagements with chairpersons of Huawei and China Merchants Bank and the world’s largest contract manufacturer, Foxconn, Dr Cable promoted investment opportunities in the UK. He highlighted UK financial and professional services in a meeting with the President of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. At a business reception he focused on UK creativity, celebrating the opening of a new store by Vivienne Westwood. He saw at first hand the UK’s involvement in landmark buildings in South China, meeting representatives of architects and structural engineers.

Dr Cable witnessed, among other agreements, the signing of MoUs between the UK’s Hartree Centre and the Guangzhou Supercomputer Centre; the University of Warwick and Sun Yat Sen University; and BT and Huawei. The visit and the announcements were widely and positively reported in the Chinese press.

In Beijing, Dr Cable was the only foreign Minister to speak at China’s major annual showcase promoting trade in services (CIFTIS). At CIFTIS he witnessed an agreement between the UK’s leading provider of on-line learning in the health and social care sector and the China Medical Doctors Association to provide training for China’s GPs, nurses and specialist medical care professionals. At the Bird’s Nest Stadium he met Joey the Warhorse and watched a skills exchange between puppeteers from the National Theatre and National Theatre of China.

At an event hosted by Atkins Dr Cable launched a toolkit for sustainable urban planning, partly-funded by the FCO Prosperity Fund, which will be piloted in three Chinese cities. He then joined Sir Michael Bear and the Regeneration Investment Organisation with representatives of Deloittes at a lunch with Chinese developers, banks and conglomerates to promote regeneration projects in the UK.

The main event in Beijing was the 11th UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission. This saw important new Chinese commitments to work more closely with the UK on trade in services, financial sector reform, due diligence, intellectual property enforcement, Free Trade Zones, standards and 3rd market collaboration.

A visit to Qingdao was themed on the creative industries. Dr Cable opened the 3rd Technology Innovators Forum, where UK and Chinese digital and media companies struck £50m worth of agreements. At Wanda’s flagship £4bn Oriental Movie City project, and with Qingdao’s Party Secretary Li Qun, Dr Cable paved the way for British SMEs to follow Pinewood in working with Qingdao’s creative sector.

At the final stop in Chongqing, Dr Cable met Party Secretary Sun Zhengcai, who stressed Chongqing’s strategic location at the western end of the Yangtse River Economic Development Belt and noted that while urbanisation and industrialisation would continue ecological improvement was increasingly high on the agenda. He saw great potential for cooperation with UK companies. At a business reception, Dr Cable was briefed by some of the 40 UK companies that had accompanied him to China about their week-long mission which included engagements in the cities of Hangzhou, Changsha and Xiamen.

The following day, Dr Cable visited GDC, a joint venture company invested by the UK engineering group GKN that supplies drive shafts to the Chinese automotive sector. The manager of Maclaren’s recently opened showroom briefed him on the company’s ambitious sales target for the city. The trip ended as it began, with urbanisation in the spotlight. Dr Cable witnessed a contract signing between Chongqing’s Minghao Group and Atkins for a master planning contract just across the border in Guizhou province, along with MOUs with 5 more UK companies for other aspects of this large multi-million pound development worth around £20 million.

Comment

This visit advanced a series of policy and business initiatives that should deliver long-term commercial wins, notably our work with Atkins and BRE on embedding British standards and business practices into China’s urban planning, our smart cities collaboration with Huawei and Manchester/Bristol, the Global Digital Media Entertainment Alliance between our creative companies and the burgeoning links between UK and Chinese universities and scientific institutions.

Disclaimer

The purpose of the FCO Country Update(s) for Business (”the Report”) prepared by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is to provide information and related comment to help recipients form their own judgments about making business decisions as to whether to invest or operate in a particular country. The Report’s contents were believed (at the time that the Report was prepared) to be reliable, but no representations or warranties, express or implied, are made or given by UKTI or its parent Departments (the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)) as to the accuracy of the Report, its completeness or its suitability for any purpose. In particular, none of the Report’s contents should be construed as advice or solicitation to purchase or sell securities, commodities or any other form of financial instrument. No liability is accepted by UKTI, the FCO or BIS for any loss or damage (whether consequential or otherwise) which may arise out of or in connection with the Report.