Topics Discussed at The China Business Seminar in London

The current Congress session emphasizes China's focus and direction for future development to create a beautiful, harmonious, culturally, democratic, strong, and prosperous country by this mid-century. With China becoming a global powerhouse and UK's target on opportunities beyond Europe, what are the assumptions for bilateral relations and business consequences? This China Business Seminar in London will be setting the scene for in-depth sessions to explore three areas where the UK has a lot to offer to China – The Belt and Road initiative, Future cities, and the Chinese consumers.

One Belt One Road

President Xi Jinping hailed the initiative as the millennium project that gathers momentum as a driver of global economic growth. An estimate of $200 billion has already been invested in BRI projects across various infrastructure projects. It has been predicted that by 2027, China's overall expenses could reach $1.2-$1.3 trillion. The rise in consumption among the emerging middle-class drives demands various services and products from financial to healthcare services. UK is uniquely well-placed to collaborate with China on BRI projects, particularly in terms of having world-leading experts in technical, legal, economic, and professional services. The panel in this seminar will be examining the opportunities for China-UK partnership, the significant challenges, and how UK businesses can capitalize on emerging opportunities. Recently the UK has planned to export 3.5-billion-pound sterling of services to China. In travel, finance, education, and business sector, the UK not only run a significant trade surplus with China, but opportunities in these sectors expand exponentially every year.

Future Cities

In the last Congress session, the Chinese Premier discussed the need for reforms in protecting the environment and brought about a more ecologically conscious model for national development. So, in line with President's call to action, the focus is on green technology innovation, urban regeneration, eco-friendly services, and environmental safeguarding as levers for a new industrialization mode and urban planning mode. At the conference, the speakers will share practical experiences and insights for solving future cities' challenges in China, covering topics like technology, planning, low carbon design, and energy-saving. Building long-term relationships with the Chinese counterpart is the key to getting local support for a China project. Many companies new to China have no idea where to begin. They must attend the China Business Seminar in London to hear from experts with experience in government relations and learn how to engage with China's government strategically.

Chinese Consumer

With a decline in import tariffs and trade barriers being slowly pulled apart, there is an increase in demand among Chinese consumers to use more Western products and services, including retail, food and drinks, entertainment, healthcare, and education. Consultancy firms report that Chinese consumers of luxury goods are increasingly sophisticated and, by 2025, makeup 45 percent of the total global luxury purchase volume. Moreover, intense competition among domestic brands and negative impressions of Chinese brands is rapidly declining as the product quality has significantly improved. The brands are quick to adapt to the challenges posed by international brands.