Chinese government visits Newcastle's high-tech TusPark to strengthen business ties

A delegation of senior Chinese government officials has visited the North East, as the latest step in the business relationship between the two territories.

The seven-strong group from Anji county, in Zhejiang province, came to Newcastle to promote China as a country for local ventures to do business, with Anji in particular being hailed as a place to welcome ambitious, growing ventures from this region.

The visit was hosted by TusPark Newcastle, the Chinese-owned co-working space and business hub established late last year to help support the development of its high-growth tech tenants, and to help promote business links with China.

TusPark Newcastle, on Grainger Street, is said to be the first facility of its kind to be established by Tus Holdings outside of its native China.

There, Tus has become China’s largest incubator network, with £26bn in assets and more than 200 worldwide presences.

Shen Mingquan, secretary of the Anji County Committee of the CPC, said: “We are honoured to have been able to visit Newcastle.

“We wanted to come here to help build the connection between our two cities and two countries, and from there, we are sure that business opportunities between the two places will also come.

“Anji would love to welcome businesses from Newcastle and we hope people will visit our beautiful region to see for themselves what we have to offer.”

While visiting Newcastle, the delegation met with a number of businesses and graduates in the city, and they encouraged any other ventures with high growth potential which would be interested in expansion into China to get in touch.

Anji county, 50km from Shanghai, is an important site for inward investment due to its seemingly picturesque location - which produces more than half of the world’s bamboo supply - and fast-growing economy.

Johnny Qi, chairman of the North Britain Chinese Entrepreneurs Association (NBCEA), added: “The relationship between the North East and China has been growing for many years, as more people from China move here and settle here, and there are many links.

“Thanks to TusPark, many students and entrepreneurs have learnt a lot more information about China and why they would want to do business there. The visit from Anji has shown us why it would be of such benefit to be based there.

“We believe that with the support of the Anji government, the help of TusPark, and the hard work of the businesses, we will see many business opportunities as a result of this event.”

The event was attended by senior figures from across the region, including representatives from Newcastle University and Newcastle City Council, as well as from TusPark Newcastle’s partner organisations, Sintons, and Barclays.

Colin Tan, head of TusPark Newcastle, concluded: “The whole idea of TusPark to Newcastle is to bring friendship between the UK and China, and to show off the very best of both. Anji is not just a beautiful place, it is a very strong place to do business.

“There are many opportunities there for the kind of businesses we work with, those who are growing and are scaling up, and we can help support them with such expansion.”