The China-Britain Business Council’s CEO, Peter Burnett was closely involved in activities at CIFIT and accompanied the Secretary of State on his visit as part of the business delegation. Below are his reflections and insights on the busy week.

Last week I joined the China International Fair for Trade & Investment (CIFIT) in Xiamen, and the Industrial Cooperation Dialogue (ICD) and Joint Economic & Trade Commission (JETCo) in Beijing. CBBC has been involved throughout in supporting HMG (DBT) as it prepared for this significant moment.

The Government reshuffle meant the new SoS Peter Kyle was tasked with representing the UK and was only able to make to the ICD and JETCo,  rather than the initial plan of attending all three.

The UK was this year’s Guest Country of Honour at CIFIT, and we received VVIP treatment. CIFIT is approved by the State Council, and Vice Premier He Lifeng hosted the event on behalf of the Chinese Government (Xiamen is his home university town). He read out a welcome letter from Xi Jinping in the Opening Ceremony. We were superbly represented by our new Ambassador, Peter Wilson, who also read out a letter - from Keir Starmer - a very nice balance to President Xi’s letter. The letter from the PM also made reference to CBBC’s support and the work we do for trade and investment which gave us a brilliant, if unexpected, profile.

CBBC, together with the China Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA), hosted two half day Investment Conferences - "Into China" and "Into the UK” which were both well attended and supported by the senior Chinese leadership and, of course, our members and stakeholders. There was particular interest from Chinese parties in the "Into the UK" conference - which we have started hosting annually.

We decamped to Beijing on Tuesday evening to start the ICD and JETCo dialogues.

I was invited, as an observer, to the He Lifeng pre-meeting in the Great Hall of the People where the Vice Premier set a very positive tone. He was intent on ensuring that the main message was one of positive engagement and encouragement. Peter Kyle (who was fresh off a long-haul flight) had to deal with some tricky questions too.

The Industrial Cooperation Dialogue (ICD) took place on Wednesday afternoon and has led to a number of important working groups, including a Digital Economy WG, an Industrial Decarbonisation WG, a Regulatory & Standard WG for auto manufacturing and the continuation of the Industrial Cooperation Partnership (ICP). 

The ICD is a G2G dialogue which works on mechanisms to enhance regulatory exchange and commercial collaboration in strategic industries. It was jointly chaired by the UK Business Secretary, Peter Kyle, and China’s Minister of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT) Li Lecheng (also relatively new in the job). It follows from a decision in the Economic & Financial Dialogue (EFD) in January to revive the dialogue which was last held in 2022.

Its importance should not be underestimated in this AI and Digital age. Peter Kyle was, from what I could see, very comfortable in this space since he has spent the last year as SoS for Science Innovation & Technology and was, effectively, on home turf.

The ICP is an extension of the ICD but with business representation. The written ICD agreement stated both sides commit to providing high-level support for CBBC and CIETC to continue promoting partnership building under the UK-China ICP framework, which we shall continue to do in earnest.

We’ve examined the JETCo outcomes in detail. If there is one disappointment it is that many of the final agreements on lifting tariffs and easing trade and investment frictions have been kicked forward, potentially for a PM visit in the near future. During the dinner, visa-free access for UK visitors to China was raised. I also raised the question of support for SME’s setting up in China and referred to the CBBC Launchpad service. Minister Wang Wentao encouraged us to think about a UK-China Industrial Zone where SMEs and advisors could work together in a “cluster”. The Germans and Italians have set up such an arrangement. This is something CBBC should take forward with both Governments.

JETCO and the valuable ICD have sent important wider ripples through the Chinese system. There were seven Ministries represented at Vice Ministerial level in He Lifeng’s meeting, including the Ministry of Finance (Liao Min) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mme Hua Chunying). There were six DGs and four deputy DGs in the JETCo meeting. 

I have included links to two official HMG Press Releases for JETCO (pre-visit and post-visit).

Peter Burnett OBE, BBS
Chief Executive Officer
China-Britain Business Council