by Xinhua writer Sun Xiaoling
LONDON, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The China International Import Expo (CIIE) has been "a huge platform" for British businesses, and the Chinese market is "extremely important," John Edwards, British trade commissioner for China, has said.
"We first came to CIIE in 2018 when we were a country of honour, and we saw that as a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase some of the most innovative technologies the UK has to offer," said Edwards in an interview with Xinhua before the opening of the 4th CIIE being held in Shanghai on Nov. 5-10.
"And that was a huge platform for us," he stressed.
When the rest of the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, "we were able to use the CIIE as a way to bring in about 150 new British companies into China's market, mostly through cross border e-commerce," Edwards said.
This year Scottish businesses will be particularly heavily involved in the fair, and Britain will have a digital online pavilion, he noted, adding that the CIIE is "very much to be B2B (business-to-business) event as well as B2C (business-to-consumer) event."
The Chinese market is extremely important for British businesses, and "over the last decade, UK exports to China have grown at about four times the speed of our exports globally to other countries around the world," Edwards said.
The two countries, he added, can further strengthen cooperation in sectors complementary to each other, such as healthcare, renewable energy, financial service and vocational education.
"The areas around renewable energy where I think we are likely to work most closely together are new energy vehicles," said Edwards.
As China surpassed Germany as Britain's biggest single import market in the first quarter of 2021, Edwards said he is optimistic about the prospect of bilateral economic collaboration.
"I think post-pandemic, pre-pandemic and during the pandemic, the reality is that China is now the second largest economy in the world, which means it is going to be an important trading partner for many many countries around the world," he said. Enditem