The UK delegation to the 13th Central China Investment and Trade Expo (Expo Central China) met with Zhou Haibing, Vice Governor of the People's Government of Hunan, on Thursday afternoon, May 30 in Changsha. Kiran Patel, Senior Director, China-Britain Business Council (CBBC), attended the meeting.

The British delegation was led by Lewis Neal, His Majesty's Trade Commissioner for China, and included representatives from the British Consulate General in Guangzhou, the China-Britain Business Council, and several British companies including CBBC members RELX Group and InterContinental Hotels Group PLC.

Chinese government departments attending the meeting included the Foreign Affairs Office of Hunan Provincial Party Committee, Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce, Changsha Municipal Government and Changsha Municipal Bureau of Commerce.

Zhou Haibing, Vice Governor of Hunan stated, China is the UK's largest trading partner in Asia, and practical cooperation between Hunan and the UK in economic and trade fields has brought benefits to the people of both places.  He remarked that the 13th Expo Central China serves as an opportunity for both sides to strengthen industrial collaboration, deepen economic and trade cooperation, foster closer cultural exchanges, and promote the bilateral cooperation along a track of sustainable development.

Lewis Neal, HM Trade Commissioner commented that the UK is pleased to coming to Changsha for the Expo Central China, and hopes that the two sides will continue to make further progress by cooperating particulary in the fields of education, science and technology, and healthcare.