CBBC Celebrates 50 Years of UK-China Ambassadorial Relations
Following the success of the celebration dinner in Beijing last week, CBBC’s event in Shanghai was joined by British Ambassador to China, Dame Caroline Wilson DCMG, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai, and government dignitaries from Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Sichuan, Jiangxi, and Guangdong provinces. In addition, CBBC welcomed over 200 attendees from across government and business to celebrate the longevity of UK-China relations and to further promote the prosperity of trade between the two countries.
From 1972 to 2022, UK-China ambassadorial relations have achieved many important milestones; the latest of which is having reached 50 years since they began. Although the official date of the anniversary was in March 2022, the celebrations remain as relevant as ever. China recently re-opened post-Covid and CBBC worked diligently together with partners to host the celebrations that took place in Beijing and Shanghai, which were originally planned to be held last year but were postponed due to the pandemic. With over 500 guests in total between the two, the celebration dinners became CBBC’s largest and most significant offline events in 2023.
Welcome Note
Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, Chair, CBBC
Over the past 50 years, our two countries have been able to cultivate an effective, loadbearing relationship that enables us to channel our respective strengths and to confer over our differences.
Dame Caroline Wilson DCMG, HMA Ambassador
In those 50 years, economic links have rapidly expanded, with the UK-China trade and investment relationship growing exponentially. Bilateral trade has gone from US$300 million to US$100 billion. The UK Government will work with industry to deliver safe and mutually beneficial trade and investment.
ZHU Yi, Deputy Director, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce
With strengths in industries such as professional service, advanced manufacturing, biomedicine, and culture and creative, British companies can take advantage of the enriched market resources and beneficial policies of Shanghai, and more of them can open their headquarters and global research centres in the city.
YANG Xiaoguang, Minister at the Chinese Embassy in the UK
We hope and believe that CBBC and friends from the business communities of both countries will as always support mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the UK and make significant contributions to the steady and long-term development of UK-China relations.
Tom Simpson, Managing Director of CBBC China
The relationship between the UK and China consists of many different dynamics which are all closely interlinked. From our diplomatic and commercial ties to our universities and cultural institutions, they all add up to form one of the most vibrant and admired relationships between any two countries.
Representatives from our event sponsors extended their wishes on the occasion of the key milestone achieved in UK-China relations. Remarks were provided by: Jakob Stausholm, CEO, Rio Tinto; Sir Douglas Flint, CBE, CEO, abrdn; Simon Yang, bp Group SVP, bp China President; Ivan Menezes, CEO, Diageo; Mark Wang, President & CEO, HSBC China; Jolyon Bulley, CEO, IHG Greater China; Qing PAN, Member of the Board of Management, Jaguar Land Rover, President and CEO, Jaguar Land Rover China; Sir Sebastian Wood, Chairman, China, Schroders Plc.
CBBC would like to give our sincere thanks and appreciation to our diamond sponsors, abrdn, bp, Diageo, HSBC, IHG, Jaguar Land Rover, Rio Tinto, and Schroders; our gold sponsors, Atkins and Unilever; and our in-kind sponsors, AHDB and Taylors.