China's ambassador calls for stronger business ties with UK

MANCHESTER, Britain, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's Ambassador to the United Kingdom (UK) Zheng Zeguang has called on the business communities of both countries to continue to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and achieve win-win outcomes.

"In recent years, China-UK economic and trade cooperation has seen steady development, yet great potential remains to be tapped," Zheng told the sixth China-UK Economic and Trade Forum here on Wednesday.

The ambassador encouraged entrepreneurs from both countries to seize opportunities with confidence, focus on cooperation for mutual benefit in key areas and innovate for new outcomes of local cooperation.

Zheng stressed that China remains committed to advancing high-standard opening up and is working tirelessly to make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all.

The ambassador said that cooperation between China and the city of Manchester has accelerated in recent years and that China is now Greater Manchester's third largest trading partner.

More and more Chinese enterprises express interest in the investment and business opportunities in the northern part of the UK and the number of cooperation projects in the area is steadily growing, he noted.

Dominic Johnson, minister of state in the UK Department for Business and Trade, agreed with Zheng that steps should be taken to boost business cooperation between the two countries.

Johnson recalled that bilateral trade was worth over 100 billion British pounds (126.47 billion U.S. dollars) in 2022. "China represents huge opportunities for all our businesses based in Manchester or anywhere in the United Kingdom," he added.

Hosted by the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK, the forum brought together over 230 representatives from all walks of life to communicate and explore opportunities for cooperation.