The first two weeks of October saw the Labour and Conservative parties hold their annual conferences. CBBC’s chair, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, and CEO, Andrew Seaton, were both in attendance to find out how a new government under Prime Minister Liz Truss plans to take forward the UK’s foreign and economic interests and what a Labour government would do differently. 
 
Sir Sherard joined the CBBC’s podcast, the China Business Brief, to give his readout after travelling to Liverpool and Birmingham on how both parties are currently feeling towards China and what businesses can expect from the new government in the near-term future. 
 
There was a real sense of urgency to conference season this year, what with everything that is facing the UK economy and both the Conservatives and Labour wanting to win the argument on growth. Boosting trade and investment will be crucial in this regard, of course, so while China was not a headline topic, there was a lot of talk about the UK's trade ties with the country on the side-lines of the event.

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