Business association hails historic successes

Group has gained acceptance from British business and political leaders, chairman says

As more Chinese companies successfully invest in Britain, the China Enterprises Association in Britain says it is making historic breakthroughs.

The organization, which has more than 150 members, engages in many high-level activities inside and outside business in Britain.

It also plays an important role in serving, uniting and promoting Chinese enterprises in Britain and promoting collaboration between the two countries.

"In the past the club may have seemed as though it was inward looking, but it is outward looking and very active, interacting well with local businesses," says Lin Ning, the association's secretary-general.

Lin is also chief representative of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in the UK.

"The association has learned enough to become a mainstream chamber and is making historic breakthroughs," he says.

During Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Britain in June, the association co-hosted a China-UK business dinner at the Natural History Museum in London with the China-Britain Business Council, which helps UK companies grow and develop their businesses in China.

Six hundred and fifty guests from business and government attended the glittering dinner, allowing association members to engage with local businesses and hear keynote addresses from Li and British Chancellor George Osborne.

The association also worked with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the British Department for Business Innovation & Skills, UK Trade & Investment, China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products to organize a UK-China trade and economic forum, Partners for Growth, to explore ways in which UK and Chinese businesses can work more closely together and secure new commercial opportunities.

Hundreds of senior China and UK business representatives attended the event.

"In the past, such high-profile dinners in London were hosted only by British business circles," Lin says, adding that now the association has gained acceptance from British business and political leaders.

In September, visiting Vice-Premier Ma Kai also attended a dinner the association organized in conjunction with the China-Britain Business Council and the 48 Group Club, an independent business network committed to promoting relations between Britain and China.

Besides these events, the organization has arranged meetings between CEOs of Chinese businesses and British officials and business leaders such as the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable and the former trade and investment minister lord Stephen Green.

Lin says: "The association also takes advantage of its collaborative relationship with foreign chambers of commerce, trade associations and other relevant agencies to organize, from time to time, seminars, business tours to British main cities like Liverpool and Manchester that include exhibitions, and a series of other business events to continuously encourage its enterprise members to seek new opportunities."

Association members have also attended British investment meetings in London, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The association also introduces and promotes bilateral collaboration on research and development between Chinese companies and British universities, Lin says, adding that some members are interested in joining an R&D project or buying R&D outcomes.

"The Chinese enterprises are seeking potential business opportunities in Britain."

Explaining the reasons for the association's engagements and achievements, Zhou Xiaoming, the former minister counselor of the Chinese embassy in London, says: "We are experiencing a rapid expansion of the economic and commercial relationship between our two countries, and are moving steadily onto the fast track."

Chinese outbound investment in the UK is gathering speed. Since 2012, nearly $20 billion from China has flown into the UK, and in the first seven months of this year there was a surge of Chinese investment.

Chinese companies made nine major mergers and acquisitions in the first nine months of this year. With total investment of more than $5 billion, they have invested more than they did in the all of last year.

Cumulatively, Chinese companies have invested a total of about $40 billion in Britain, Zhou says, adding that it represents twice as much as UK investment in China, making the UK the largest recipient of Chinese investment in the EU. Over the decades, more than 500 Chinese companies have set up shop in the UK.

The UK now leads the EU in expanding trade with China, Zhou says. In the first seven months of this year, two-way trade between China and the UK rose 22 percent year on year, compared with a 12 percent rise in China-EU trade and a 1.2 percent increase in China's trade with the rest of the world.

As a result, the UK has overtaken the Netherlands to become China's second-largest trading partner in the EU.

This increase in the flow of goods has been achieved after an 11 percent rise last year, when two-way trade was worth $70 billion. Since 2009 it has doubled.

Besides the efforts to work with local business, the association organizes seminars providing detailed finance, legal, tax and human resources management information to CEOs and managers of Chinese businesses to help them better understand British culture, law, policies and project information, Lin says.

It also organizes cultural and sports activities such as table tennis competitions for members.

The association's executive members are elected every two years, Lin says.

The association takes pride in "our fruitful economic cooperation this year and have every reason to be confident about the prospects of China-UK economic ties and the prospects of the association and all its members", he says.

zhangchunyan@chinadaily.com.cn

Executive members of the China Enterprises Association in Britain at an annual meeting in December 2013. Photos Provided to China Daily