Insights | UK firms breaking record at CIFIT signals strong will of cooperation: Ambassador Wilson

By Lin Zhuowei, Gong Weiwei

(ECNS)-- In early autumn, Xiamen once again entered its annual “CIFIT moment.”

As the Guest Country of Honor at the 25th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), the United Kingdom brought more than 100 leading companies including AstraZeneca and Haleon. The turnout not only marked the largest UK delegation in CIFIT’s history, but also set a new record for participation by a single country.

Coinciding with the upcoming visit of UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Peter Kyle, who will arrive in Beijing on Sept. 10 to attend the first UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission in seven years, the UK’s active engagement has prompted questions: are UK-China ties entering a new stage?

Wilson: UK government support sends a clear signal

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a series of China-UK investment exchange events held during CIFIT, Peter Wilson, the newly appointed British Ambassador to China, stressed that the UK government had given strong backing to this engagement, sending “the clearest possible signal.”

“We are serious about fostering a constructive economic relationship with China, one that deepens our bilateral investment ties and explores opportunities for growth and this relationship is important. Our prime minister has rightly said that we want the relationship to be strategic, we want it to be stable, and we want it to be respectful,” Wilson said in his remarks.

High-level exchanges on the rise

Wilson noted that high-level interactions between the UK and China have increased significantly over the past year. The UK’s Deputy Prime Minister and former Foreign Secretary has met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on multiple occasions. In last October, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil.

Earlier this year, the two sides resumed the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue for the first time since 2019, and expanded exchanges in areas such as climate change, health, and education. This week, the UK’s new business and trade chief will visit China only five days after taking office, attend the Joint Economic and Trade Commission, and hold the first industry cooperation dialogue in over three years with China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology.

UK firms show strong enthusiasm for China

Beyond government-level engagement, British companies are demonstrating strong interest in expanding their presence in China, too.

Wilson told China News Network that the unprecedented scale of the UK delegation reflects “a very, very strong interest by UK companies in building their ties with China” and to build “lasting relationships and partnerships that innovate.”

Lewis Neal, the UK’s Trade Commissioner to China, highlighted the country’s global leadership in life sciences. Among the exhibitors is AstraZeneca, ranked among the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical firms, which earlier this year announced a US$2.5 billion investment in Beijing to establish its sixth global strategic R&D center — a vivid example of deepening UK-China business cooperation.

Wilson also praised China’s achievements in technological innovation, expressing the UK’s readiness to deepen cooperation in these areas and learn from China’s strengths.

He noted that the UK government’s Modern Industrial Strategy released recently identifies five priority sectors — clean energy, financial services, creative industries, life sciences, and professional and business services. These, he said, are highly complementary to China’s industrial strengths and will create broader space for cooperation.