Member Article

Chancellor launches Manchester-China business development initiative

George Osborne was in Manchester to launch the Manchester-China Forum, a business initiative to drive trade and investment with China.

Manchester has the third largest Chinese community in Europe, and the Forum aims to leverage this to facilitate a strong business relationship.

The Forum builds on recommendations of Lord Nat Wei’s ‘Growing East - A Strategy for Greater Manchester’s engagement with China,’ published last year.

The Chancellor said: “The Chinese community make a huge contribution to Manchester and to the United Kingdom. China continues to grow at a remarkable pace and I want to make the UK the first place Chinese companies think of when they come to do business in Europe.

“This means having the joint lowest corporation tax in the G20 by 2015, being the Western Hub for companies looking to access Renminbi products and services, and enhancing the visa offer for Chinese businesses.

“I’m proud of the strong Chinese community in Manchester, and proud of Manchester’s role as the gateway for Chinese business to the North of England. I strongly support the Manchester-China Forum and the ambition of Manchester Airports Group to provide a direct airline service between Manchester and China as the natural next step in developing these links.”

The Forum’s main aims are to support growth in Manchester’s exports to China by 2018; increase inward investment from Chinese companies; grow inward tourism from Chinese visitors; increase Chinese student numbers in Greater Manchester’s educational institutions; increase student retention and develop direct air routes.

Lord Wei added: “This forum highlights Manchester’s commitment to build real partnerships with counterparts in the East with great brands and businesses that are attractive to Chinese investors, a vibrant and sizeable Chinese community and strong sector strengths in media, environment and health - Manchester’s prospects for building strong partnerships in China are bright.”

Charlie Cornish, chief executive of the Manchester Airports Group (MAG) and chair of the Forum, said: “The forum will be business-focused and targeted specifically at the Greater Manchester region.

“The partners involved felt a need for local businesses to receive more focussed help so we will specifically identify Chinese sectors and regions with characteristics complementary to Manchester, and then devote our resources to building networks with them.

“More than £4 billion of business was struck between China and the North West of England last year and we want to build on that start and ensure a lasting legacy between our two countries.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .