300 UK business leaders, including CBBC President Lord Sassoon and CBBC Chief Executive Peter Burnett, have arrived in China to take part in the 25th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), which is being held in Xiamen, Fujian Province from 8th to 11th September.

CIFIT is a national-level event, hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, and attracts senior attendees from across China and around the world. This year promises to be no exception. Representatives from over 120 countries are attending this year’s fair, and as the ‘Country of Honour’ at this year’s Fair the UK will have a great deal of visibility, with a large UK pavilion and a host of activities promoting UK-China bilateral trade.

President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the Fair, stressing that, as a major contributor and anchor of stability for global economic growth, China will unswervingly expand high-level opening up, promote the liberalisation and facilitation of trade and investment, continue to share its development opportunities with the world, and inject more positive energy and certainty into global development. The full letter can be found here.

The new UK Ambassador to China, Peter Wilson, delivered a letter from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the opening ceremony. In the letter, Prime Minister Starmer reflected on the importance of ‘maintaining stable and balanced relationships’ with China, and referred to the ‘active support of the China-Britain Business Council’ in fostering lasting partnerships in China for UK businesses

From Sunday - Monday, 7 - 8 September, Ambassador Wilson, CBBC President Lord Sassoon, and CBBC Chief Executive Peter Burnett participated in a series of programmes, including:

• VIP Pavillion Tour with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng
• UK Pavillion Opening Ceremony
• UK-China (Fujian) Business Forum
• Meeting with Jiangsu Governor Xu Kunlin and participation in UK-China (Jiangsu) Bilateral Investment Cooperation Conference

Looking ahead, on Tuesday, 9 September, one of the highlights of CIFIT will be CBBC’s flagship event, the UK Investment Conference,  which is part of a series that explores investment exchange. During the morning session, the focus will be on Chinese investment into the UK, and in the afternoon, we switch attention to UK investment into China.

In addition, CBBC has set up a number of activities, including:

• Meeting with Vice Governor of Jiangxi Xia Wenyong and participation in the Jiangxi Business Dialogue
• Meeting with Governor and Deputy Party-Secretary of Fujian Zhao Long and participation in the UK-China (Fujian) Business Forum
• The World Business Leaders Roundtable for Global Investment, at which Lord Sassoon is speaking.

JETCo

Following a flying visit to Washington, the new UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, will travel to Beijing for the Joint Economic Trade Commission (JETCo), the first to be held since 2018.

Co-chaired by Chinese Commerce Minister WANG Wentao and Mr Kyle, JETCo is a government-to-government forum that promotes bilateral economic and trade cooperation, including facilitating policy exchange and addressing market access issues.

The government is explicit in its desire to build a platform for a long-term relationship with China that works squarely in our national interest, ensuring our economy has the broad base and resilient foundations for the growth that makes working people in every corner of Britain better off. So, it is expected that the JETCo will result in significant outcomes for British business.

CBBC is closely involved in business activity around the Secretary of State’s visit, joining visits and running events alongside the official programme. We will continue to update on activity as the week progresses.

CBBC Chief Executive Peter Burnett said: “The 25th CIFIT is under way in Xiamen where the UK is the Guest Country of Honour. The exciting UK Pavillion is at the centre of our activities and there are more than 100 UK companies present today. The theme for this year’s CIFIT is “Join Hands with China, Invest in the Future” with a particular focus on the importance of investment to boost growth. CBBC is delighted to be supporting that theme through our own Investment Summits looking at FDI from China into the UK and vice versa".

Further details of UK involvement in CIFIT are in this China Daily article