Chinese premier visits to cement new trade links

THE North will forge new economic partnerships with China and unlock the potential of the Northern Powerhouse, the Prime Minister will announce today.
 
The announcement comes as the Prime Minister and Chinese President, Xi Jinping, embark upon a tour of Manchester, as part of the China State Visit.
 
David Cameron said: “We are committed to rebalancing our economy and building a Northern Powerhouse. China is a key trading partner for the UK and the partnerships being made today will see real investment going into the North. This is all part of this government’s plan to attract more investment and deliver economic growth to an area of huge potential.”
 
Downing Street said the new Manchester-Beijing direct flights, the first such service outside London, would provide a £50m boost to the Manchester economy and open up links from China into the north.

Other deals to be announced include Beijing Construction and Engineering Group (BCEG) – already a partner and investor in the Airport City development at Manchester Airport – being appointed as main contractor for the Middlewood Locks regeneration project in Manchester. BCEG will also provide £4m development financing to help kickstart the project.

The University of Central Lancashire establishing a joint innovation and entrepreneurship campus with the Shenzhen Government in south eastern China, while Hong Kong based company Netdragon Websoft is finalising the acquisition of the educational technology company Promethean World Plc, based in Blackburn, for £84.8m, securing 671 jobs.
 
On their tour of Manchester, the Prime Minister and President will visit the new Manchester City Football Academy. Here, they will see a training match taking place and meet with players – past and present from Manchester City and Manchester United – including Gary Neville, Patrick Vieira, Denis Law and Mike Summerbee.

President Xi is known to be a passionate football fan and wants China to become a world force in the game. He will meet City’s chairman Khaldoon Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano to discuss the recent investment in the youth and women’s football facilities in east Manchester.
 
Taking a tour of the National Football Museum, the party will see a number of Chinese and British artefacts including the 1930 World Cup ball and a seven panel football – a gift from the China Football Museum which pre-dates 1914. They will also witness former City and China footballer Sun Jihai being inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame.
 
The Prime Minister and President will then attend a lunch at Manchester Town Hall, alongside more than 230 businesses, civic leaders and community representatives from across the North of England and China, providing an opportunity for the Northern Powerhouse to strengthen links with China.
 
On their last stop, the leaders are visiting Manchester Airport, where as well as discussing the new direct flight, they will see an exhibition for Airport City Manchester and meet with the Airport’s chief executive Charlie Cornish to discuss the plans for this new initiative.