UK, the guest country of honor at 8th WCIFIT, looks to boost two-way investment

By Liu Xinyu

(ECNS) – The 8th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade opened Thursday at the Chongqing International Expo Center, with the United Kingdom featured as the guest country of honor.

The UK organized its largest business delegation to visit western China in recent years, set up a 600-square-meter UK pavilion, and held a series of economic and trade exchange events to showcase British innovation and solutions across diverse industries.

The initiative aims to align the UK's modern industrial strategy with the development of western China and promote stable, healthy two-way investment.

Led by Lewis Neal, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for China, the delegation included more than 100 representatives from over 60 organizations and companies in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, green infrastructure, healthcare, technology, culture, education, professional services, and retail. 

Institutions such as the China-Britain Business Council, the British Chamber of Commerce Southwest China, UK Export Finance, and the Welsh Government joined, along with companies including McLaren.

On Thursday afternoon, the UK-China (Chongqing) Economic and Trade Cooperation Matchmaking Conference and one-on-one business matchmaking sessions were held, giving Chinese and British firms opportunities to discuss investment prospects and international expansion strategies.

"Since 2000, China has invested £81.4 billion into the UK," Neal said. "Through the UK guest country of honor program at WCIFIT, we are providing a dynamic platform for businesses from both sides to explore new opportunities. We look forward to engaging more partners from Chongqing and western China."

The UK National Pavilion showcased advanced products, technologies, and solutions from 35 British companies.

"More than 110 British companies are now operating in Chongqing, while Chinese enterprises have also made investments in the UK," said Anthony Preston, His Majesty's Consul-General to Chongqing.

"I am delighted to welcome over 100 British business representatives to Chongqing this week. The UK is an important trading partner for Chongqing and a key source of capital and technology. In 2025, Chongqing's total import and export volume with the UK reached 12.987 billion yuan (about $1.79 billion), a year‑on‑year increase of 25.7 percent. Through the WCIFIT platform, we aim to deepen practical cooperation between businesses from both sides," Preston said.

"One of our major ambitions is to continue to increase the cultural connections and exchanges between the UK and Chongqing and the people‑to‑people links between these two places as well. I look forward to welcoming more British businesses to the metropolis and to supporting more Chongqing companies to go global and go to the UK," Preston added in an interview with China News Service at the UK pavilion.