City of London delegation visits China

A business delegation lead by the Lord Mayor of the City of London is visiting China this week to promote trade ties.

The new Lord Mayor of London Charles Bowman waves from his carriage during the parade at the Lord Mayor's Show 2017, in the City of London. [Photo: VCG]

The City of London Corporation business group, made up of senior representatives from the banking, insurance and legal sectors, will stop in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing during their nine day visit.

In an interview before his departure, Charles Bowman, Lord Mayor of the City of London, told reporters that the trip aims to enhance and explore new business cooperation between the UK and China. He said that among the many topics to be discussed with Chinese counterparts, the City's role in the Belt and Road Initiative is top on the agenda.

"We see ourselves very much as the natural western hub for the Belt and Road and we are very keen to make sure we offer our expertise across all sorts of service provision in the support of what is an extraordinary vision, the size and scale of which I believe the globe has never seen before."

The Lord Mayor will also propose the prospect of a digital silk road.

"We have this wonderful 'one stop shop', tech and financial services right next door to each other with great governmental guidance, efficient regulatory support and user friendly environment and we are very keen to make sure we collaborate with China and create a win-win between the UK and China."

Fintech will also be on the discussion table among other topics when the Lord Mayor attends a forum on the development of China's Xiong'an New Area. He said the City of London can provide infrastructure solutions which will help Xiong'an to realize its ambition in becoming a world-class digital financial center.

"Without a shadow of doubt, our own expertise in what we've achieved here in London such as those in Canary Wharf will help in the infrastructure build and to the establishing of what would be a major development center for China. This project is of immense in scale and in terms of investment."

During UK Prime Minister Theresa May's official visit to China earlier this year, companies from the UK and China signed an agreement to jointly build a finance and technology park in Xiong'an New Area.

The Lord Mayor said he hopes the City delegation's visit will lead to closer cooperation in the Golden Era of UK-China relations. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the City Corporation's business operations in China.