- tenth UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) held in London today
- major economic milestones in areas including finance, trade and investment
- EFDs have helped treble investment between the UK and China
The tenth Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) between the UK and China took place in London today, with the Chancellor hosting Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and a Chinese delegation for a series of events to discuss economic issues, financial services cooperation, and trade and investment.
Major milestones that have emerged from the dialogue include UK-listed companies being the first foreign companies in the world to be able to sell shares in mainland China; widening market access for British beef and pork; and a new private sector fund, worth up to £1 billion, to help UK firms expand into Chinese markets.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:
Today is the tenth time we have held these meetings between our two nations.
This year we are enhancing our financial cooperation, launching the ground-breaking London-Shanghai Stock Connect, and agreeing a new £1 billion fund to support trailblazing UK businesses. We are also supporting our Great British food industry, with China now opening up its markets to British beef and pork.
Through these dialogues we have achieved real successes, trebling the investment between our two nations, boosting our economies and increasing prosperity for all of our citizens.
Major milestones announced during the dialogue include:
- the launch of the London-Shanghai Stock Connect, allowing UK-listed companies to sell shares in China – the first time any foreign company has been able to do so in mainland China
- agreement to widen market access for British beef and pork, which will boost our economy and create jobs
- a new UK-China Fund, targeting £1 billion, delivered in partnership by Charterhouse, CIC and HSBC to invest in UK SMEs with growth plans linked to China
- deepening cooperation on infrastructure projects that meet international standards agreed by the G20, including establishing a new emerging markets infrastructure platform to create a pipeline of bankable projects for UK firms to engage with
- the first ever green loan facility from a Chinese bank – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China – which complies with the Green Loan Principles, to be managed from London by BNP Paribas and HSBC and worth up to $400 million
- a new digital payments platform, worth £100 million, to be developed by Multipass and UnionPay International to expand the acceptance of China’s UnionPay branded cards outside mainland China, creating over 100 jobs in the UK
- commercial agreements, worth over £500 million, in vital areas like tech, education and financial services
The dialogue is one of several EFDs that take place with other countries, including Brazil and India. The last UK-China EFD took place in December 2017 in Beijing.
Since the first EFD in 2008, trade in goods and services between the UK and China has more than doubled from £32 billion to a record £69 billion, with investment between our two countries having almost trebled. In the last six years alone, there has been over 700 new investments, creating nearly 16,000 new jobs and safeguarding around 13,000 more.
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