On Monday, 18 May, the 2026 Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), was held at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attended the opening ceremony and delivered remarks.

The opening ceremony was chaired by Ren Hongbin, Chairman of CCPIT, who also released the 2026 Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit Beijing Initiative on behalf of the participating business community.

Tom Simpson, Managing Director & Chief Representative, China, at the China–Britain Business Council (CBBC), attended the parallel session on “Advancing Industrial Upgrading Through Deeper Integration Between Service and Manufacturing”. Speaking at the forum, Tom said:

“We have seen growing engagement among our member companies in recent years, with British and Chinese businesses deepening collaboration across manufacturing and services. The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and China’s 15th Five-Year Plan have a number of areas of alignment, particularly in the green transition, advanced manufacturing, and healthcare and life sciences.”