Cameron champions Chinese trade
PRIME Minister David Cameron is heading a major trade mission to China, where he will attempt to build better investment and cultural links.
Five ministers, Jeremy Hunt (health), Owen Paterson (environment), Maria Miller (culture, media & sport); David Willetts (higher education), Ian Livingston (trade) and Hugo Swire (foreign office), are with him on the trip, along with a delegation of business leaders.
Over the course of the three-day visit, Mr Cameron will be holding meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, engaging with Chinese investors and showcasing British businesses and also engaging with Chinese students.
Leading the agenda today is plan to to liberalise trade between China and the EU – which could be worth up to £1.8bn a year to the UK economy alone.
The Prime Minister’s visit to China began with a visit to Jaguar Land Rover’s training academy in Beijing to mark its official opening.
Jaguar Land Rover’s activities in China indirectly support 38,000 British jobs and China has now overtaken Britain to become its largest market. The technical academy in Beijing has the capacity to train 4,500 people a year – the trainees are technicians, sales consultants and service advisors. It’s the second such facility to open in China and will shortly be complemented by a new Academy in Guangzhou.
Mr Cameron said: “I hope that by advancing and extending our bilateral trade, by working together on the global issues that affect us all, and by maintaining an honest and open dialogue, my visit to China can plant the seeds of a long-term relationship which will benefit China, Britain and the world for generations to come.”
Among the business delegation with Mr Cameron is Michael Cosser, a partner at Liverpool-based Brock Carmichael Architects.
He said: “China is by far the largest of the emerging markets for new buildings, which by 2020 will account for 55% of global construction value.
“We anticipate an increasing emphasis on the social infrastructure sector. Projects such as education, housing, community and healthcare will become an important growth area”.
He added:“Liverpool is twinned with Shanghai and to be visiting the city with a business delegation led by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, will be very special. We will promote the International Festival for Business taking place in Liverpool in 2014 and inward investment opportunities such as Liverpool Waters.”
“In 2011 we won an international design competition for Ocean One, a 52-acre waterfront development at East Port in Tianjin. The project has been delayed but we hope this visit will refresh interest, encouraging it to move forward.”
