Silk Road International Expo Information: China (Shaanxi)-UK Economic and Trade Cooperation Fair was Held in Xi'an

On the morning of May 12, the China (Shaanxi)-UK Economic and Trade Cooperation Fair, one of the activities of British guest country of the 3rd Silk Road International Expo, was held in Xi'an. The fair was sponsored by the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government and the British Embassy Beijing, and organized by Shaanxi Provincial Department of Commerce, Foreign Affairs Office of People's Government of Shaanxi, China-Britain Business Council. Wei Zengjun, deputy governor of Shaanxi Province, dame Wu Baina, British ambassador to China, and Lu Moxue, president of the China-Britain Business Council, attended the meeting and delivered speeches.

Wei Zengjun said that Sino-British relations have continued to heat up in recent years. The United Kingdom is the first western country to respond to the China's "Belt and Road"  initiative. In 2015, President Xi Jinping visited the UK and opened the "golden age" of Sino-British relations. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Theresa May visited China. The leaders of the two countries reached broad consensus on advancing the "Golden Age" of Sino-British relations and deepening the "Belt and Road" cooperation, as well as laying a solid foundation for local cooperation.

Britain has always been an important trading partner of Shaanxi. In 2017, the gross value of imports and exports of Shaanxi and the Britain was 3.197 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 40.41%. As of the end of 2017, the Britain had actually invested 429 million dollars in Shaanxi, and more than 100 British companies such as Standard Chartered Bank have come to Shaanxi and make investment to establish business and develop cooperatively. Shaanxi enterprises are also active in investing in the UK, with a total investment of 260 million dollars, involving aviation manufacturing, restaurants, and real estate.

At present, Shaanxi is building a pilot free trade zone with high standards and striving to create five major centers including “Belt and Road” transportation and trade logistics, international capacity cooperation, science and technology education, international cultural tourism, and Silk Road finance. In addition, Shaanxi will vigorously develop hub economy, portal economy, and mobile economy. Shaanxi Province will continue to deepen reforms, expand opening up, optimize and upgrade the business environment comprehensively to provide quality services to investment enterprises in Shaanxi. Wei Zengjun stated that we will continue to encourage more Shaanxi enterprises to invest in the UK and continue to increase the development level of open economy. At the same time, we also welcome British companies to actively invest in Shaanxi in order to share business opportunities and write the good chapter of friendly cooperation and mutual benefit.

Wu Baina introduced that this Silk Road International Expo was led by the Minister of Export and Trade Promotion of the United Kingdom who brought the largest scale delegation including over 200 people involving in infrastructure, engineering, finance and professional services, medical treatment, higher education, preservation of cultural relics and educational technology, demonstrating the ambition and strength of Britain in all walks of life.

She said that Britain hopes to participate in the “Belt and Road” initiative and to continuously strengthen trade relations with Shaanxi since Xi’an has assumed a crucial role in the “Belt and Road” initiative as the starting point of the Silk Road.

It is understood that this conference focused on the cooperation between the two parties in the construction of the “Belt and Road” and the modern industry, aiming to promote economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between Shaanxi and the United Kingdom. During the meeting, the companies of the two sides conducted one-on-one negotiation and exchanges on cooperation in the fields of finance, infrastructure, medical care, education, and advanced manufacturing, which laid a good foundation for further cooperation. （Tong Zhou）