This aerial photo taken on Feb. 17, 2023 shows the Port of Liverpool, in Liverpool, Britain. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Xinhua)
by Martina Fuchs
LONDON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Britain-China relations are witnessing a pick-up in investment and trade links, particularly in the Chinese consumer economy and renewable energy, a British business leader has told Xinhua.
The end of COVID-19 travel restrictions and the chance of normal business travel resuming have made this possible, said Andrew Seaton, chief executive of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC), in a recent interview, noting that China's focus on restoring growth is clear.
China has set its economic growth target at around 5 percent in 2023 to ensure steady and high-quality development, making headlines around the world.
According to Britain's Office for National Statistics, China is Britain's third-largest trading partner and the country's sixth-largest goods export market. Trade in goods between the two sides exceeded 120 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.
People visit the booth of Britain at the China National Convention Center during the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 3, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)
In terms of most attractive sectors, Seaton, who served as executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong from 2015 to 2020 prior to CBBC, highlighted that the Chinese consumer economy would clearly stand out for British companies doing business in and with China, especially the automotive, fashion and pharmaceutical industries.
"When you look at the economic outlook over the coming decade, there is a huge growth in the numbers of new middle-class consumers in Asia. China is at the heart of that," he said.
As the wealth of Chinese middle-class consumers grows, financial services, wealth management services, health services, and of course education are all going to expand, said the business leader.
Photo taken on Nov. 7, 2020 shows the exhibition booth of Great Britain at the Food and Agricultural Products exhibition area during the third China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)
Seaton was formerly a member of the British diplomatic service spending much of his career working on Britain-China relations, including postings to the embassy in Beijing, as head of the China department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and as British consul general to China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region.
He added that cooperation, investment and trade in technologies, products and services, which will help both Britain and China achieve their zero carbon targets, is also a really crucial area of cooperation moving forward.
"There's a real sense of business contacts moving ahead, which is very positive," said Seaton. "We're being contacted by Chinese delegations, Chinese municipalities, provincial governments about visits to Britain. I do think this is a moment for those sorts of normal business contacts." ■
