The Diaoyutai State Guesthouse held a grand celebration lunch. Today, the Group | Trade | Lunch
On the noon of the 6th, a grand celebration lunch was held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, 48 British group clubs, and the Anglo China Trade Association.
Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, presided over the event and delivered an opening speech. Stephen Perry, Chairman of the 48 UK Group Clubs, Michael Owen, Vice Chairman of the China UK Trade Association, Liu Jin, President of Bank of China, and Du Jiaqi, Chairman of HSBC Group, attended the event and delivered speeches. British Ambassador to China Wu Ruolan was invited to attend the event.
The banquet attended by about 100 representatives from the Chinese and British business communities is aimed at celebrating a challenging and significant "ice breaking journey" 70 years ago.
70 years ago, the "ice breaking journey"
In 1953, China was still in the midst of the Western economic blockade. Jack Perry, then Chairman of the London Export Company, led more than 10 British business people to overcome numerous obstacles and traveled from Hong Kong to Macau, then through Guangzhou to Beijing, where they collaborated with the newly established China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. On July 6, 1953, this group of "ice breakers" from Britain signed a trade agreement with China worth up to 30 million pounds, opening up the first channel for trade exchanges between China and Britain.
This is the first trade delegation from Western Europe since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, which has not only opened up the "ice layer" that hinders trade with China for Britain, but also for the entire Western trade community.
Afterwards, 48 British companies interested in conducting trade with China established the "Anglo China Trade 48 Group", which was the predecessor of the 48 Group Club.
70 years have passed, and now China has become the UK's largest trading partner in Asia, while the UK is China's third largest trading partner in Europe. In the first five months of this year, the trade volume between China and the UK has reached 271.5 billion yuan.
The investment cooperation between the two countries is also accelerating. According to official data, as of the end of 2022, the stock of two-way investment between China and the UK was 51.02 billion US dollars, of which British companies invested 29.17 billion US dollars in China and Chinese companies invested 21.85 billion US dollars in the UK. Currently, over 500 Chinese funded enterprises have settled in the UK. The economic and trade cooperation between the two countries is showing a trend of diversified development.
Inheriting the "Spirit of Breaking the Ice"
This banquet is more aimed at celebrating the "ice breaking spirit" of foresight, open cooperation, and daring to be the first.
The spirit of breaking the ice can be seen everywhere in Sino British exchanges. Britain was the first Western country to recognize New China and also the first major Western country to apply to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
70 years have passed, and both China and the UK, as well as the world, have undergone significant changes. Currently, the world situation is accelerating and the recovery of international trade and economy is stumbling.
Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said at a luncheon that the reason why "ice breakers" have played an important role in every historical period of China UK exchanges and the reason why "ice breaking spirit" has spanned 70 years and remained fresh is fundamentally due to always keeping up with the pace of the times, seizing historical opportunities, and taking the initiative together.
He stated that the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade is willing to work with 48 group clubs in the UK, the UK China Trade Association, and other institutions to focus on key areas such as trade, finance, green energy, and digital economy, to build more high-quality platforms for the docking and cooperation of enterprises between the two countries, provide more high-quality and accurate services, and facilitate the landing of a number of large and good projects.
Stephen Perry, the son of Jack Perry, the chairman of 48 clubs in the UK, said that the older generation of "ice breakers" represented by his father were visionary, faced challenges head-on, firmly chose to engage in trade with China, and devoted his life to promoting the development of bilateral relations between China and the UK. China UK economic and trade cooperation has strong resilience and complementarity. Now the world has entered another difficult period, which is similar to 70 years ago. 48 groups and London export companies, like my father's generation, will do our utmost to support the development of trade between the UK and China, continue to deeply cultivate China, and inherit the spirit of breaking the ice.
