Common Talk Weeklyshuang yu zhou kan
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UK, the Ideal Gateway to Europe
September 11, 2003
By Xiamen Daily reporter Vivian Chang
Photo by Yao Fan

Stephen Bradley gives a speech in Mandarin.

"For Chinese investors who intend to go global, UK is the ideal gateway to the European market." Stephen Bradley, Charged Affaires of British Embassy Beijing, gave his assurance at the UK China Investment Partnership Seminar of CIFIT on Sept. 9. The meeting is co-sponsored by Invest-UK, a British governmental administration, for promoting foreign investment, and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

Delivering his speech in flawless Mandarin, Bradley noted that during the past fiscal year, a record of 22 Chinese companies set up their offices in Britain, making the total number up to 150 from merely 50 three years ago. Some well-known Chinese companies, such as Petrochina and Legend, chose to establish their first headquarters in Britain. This all shows that Britain is becoming a significant destination of Chinese investment flow.

The UK-China Investment Partnership, signed at the 5th CIFIT in 2001, is the first ever such commitment by the Chinese and European country governments to work closely together on bilateral investment between the two countries. According to statistics provided by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, till the end of 2002, Britain had opened 3406 joined ventures in China with the total investment of 10.7 billion USD.

Compared with the British investment in China, Chinese investment in Britain is quite limited for the time being, but will surely witness a rapid growth in the future. Claire West, China Country Manager of Invest-UK, made an illustration of investment environment in Britain. Low market entry, high quality work force and world-class universities in Britain are major attracting factors for investors.

She also pointed out that the areas of Chinese investment in Britain mainly lie in financial service, import/export, services, technology and R&&D (research and development), and LSE (London Security Exchange) listed Companies. Investment in software and high technology increased vibrantly these years despite the downturn of the IT industry, attracting some Chinese ITEC enterprises such as Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corporation, Fujian Software Association, Founder, and others.

Wu Meihua, Deputy Secretary General of Fujian Software Association, made a brief report on their investment in Britain, sharing their precious experiences with the audience at the seminar. "There were some ups and downs during the course and some price to pay, but I have to admit that for Chinese enterprises, UK is the ideal location in Europe," she concluded.