Foreign and Commonwealth Office
News and Updates
The State Visit is the crowning highlight in a special year for the UK-China relationship a global partnership for the 21st century and a spectacular celebration of our shared appreciation of heritage and culture.
This partnership shows that our two countries are open for business, that we are the economies of the future and that we work closely on the international stage.
On Tuesday, the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh formally welcomed the President and Madame Peng at the Royal Pavilion on Horse Guards Parade.
You can view the full programme of events at Royal.gov.uk.
The State Visit will see more than 30 billion worth of trade and investment deals completed, creating over 3,900 jobs across the UK.
As the second biggest economy, numerous commercial deals spanning a range of sectors such as the creative industries, retail, energy, health and technology, financial services, aerospace and education will be signed, providing an opportunity for British and Chinese businesses to forge stronger links.
The visit will also open up export opportunities for UK companies looking to expand into China and attract Chinese investment into the regions. The Northern Powerhouse will get a boost as China is expected to announce further investment into the region when the Prime Minister and President visit Manchester at the end of the week.
Speaking ahead of the state visit, the Prime Minister said:
This is going to be a very important moment for British-Chinese relations. Trade and investment between our two nations is growing and our people-to-people links are strong. This visit will be an opportunity to review all of these things but also talk about how the UK and China can work together on global issues such as climate change and tackling poverty. Its a real opportunity to deepen our relationship.
The Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, said:
This is a way of working together to support the prosperity of Britain, the economic growth of Britain and also to work with China to ensure that Chinas emergence is done in a way that ensures she respects the rules-based international system and works with the grain of the international community to be, and to remain, a responsible player on the world stage.
Prime Minister David Cameron and President Xi Jinping of China joint press conference
Joint press conference: David Cameron and President Xi Jinping
Climate & Energy
EDF and its Chinese partner China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN) have committed to Hinkley Point C, confirming the first new nuclear power station in the UK for a generation.
Hinkley Point C will provide low carbon electricity to six million homes, twice as many as the whole of London, for around 60 years.
Science and Innovation
More than 2 billion of healthcare trade deals and collaborations have been signed between Chinese and UK companies, universities and organisations for UK exports in research, hospital construction, training, diagnostics and drug discovery.
The collaborations will provide benefits that go beyond the populations of China and the UK, and will have a positive effect on global health.
Visas
From January, new visitor visas for tourists from the Peoples Republic of China will be valid in the UK for 2 years 4 times the usual 6-month limit for a standard visitor visa bringing significant benefits to the UK economy, Prime Minister David Cameron announced today. He also announced his intention to go further with plans for a new 10 year multi-entry visa for Chinese tourists at no extra cost.
Chinese tourists currently contribute 500 million annually to the UK economy with record numbers visiting the UK to make the most of all the retail opportunities and visitor attractions on offer.
Creative and Technology Industry
Low carbon taxis, zero-emission sports cars, and a TV training programme were the centre of a 325 million suite of creative and technology partnerships between the UK and China announced today (21 October 2015).
These partnerships, encompassing film, TV, music and advanced engineering, will develop innovative new technologies in cutting-edge facilities in both the UK and China.
E-market retail
UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), has signed agreements with 5 top Chinese e-marketplaces, estimated to be worth 1 billion to UK companies over the next 3 years to help UK retailers and brands accelerate their global growth via online channels, the event connected UK companies with real opportunities in the Chinese market.
Protecting Intellectual Property
At the UK-Symposium it was announced that close collaboration between the China Britain Business Council (CBBC) and Alibaba, Chinas most popular ecommerce website, has resulted in the removal of more than 8 million worth of counterfeit versions of UK products.
As part of the symposium, Intellectual Property Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe also launched a toolkit which will safeguard 65 million per year in joint UK-China IP research and innovation. It provides a clear framework for negotiating how IP will be managed in joint research projects.
Finally, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in Ningbo, China has provided 500,000 in matched Newton funding to establish a China Digital Copyright and IP Law Research Centre at the University of Nottingham campus in Ningbo, China.
UK-China Business Summit
During the UK-China Business Summit at Mansion House Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of billions of pounds in business deals, further strengthening UK-China relations.
Education
Madame Peng Liyuan visited Fortismere School to observe a Mandarin class and hear about its student exchange programme with China.
The visit follows the announcement by Chancellor George Osborne last month of a 10 million investment to allow even more children to learn Mandarin at school, with the ambition of having an additional 5,000 students learning Mandarin by 2020. The funding will include recruiting and training more teachers in state schools in England to enable an additional 5,000 students to leave school having studied Mandarin
International Development
The UK and China launched a new development partnership to eradicate extreme poverty, Prime Minister David Cameron announced today during the state visit to the UK by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
This partnership will tackle poverty and help achieve the Global Goals.
Northern Powerhouse
The north of England will forge new partnerships with China and unlock the potential of the Northern Powerhouse, the Prime Minister will announce today.
This will includes a new air route will open up links between the north of England and the far east and a Chinese construction group to undertake a multi-million investment in regeneration in Middlewood Locks in Manchester, Thorpe Park in Leeds and Sheffield Digital Campus,
Speeches and press releases
- 20 October: China State Visit will unlock more than 30 billion of commercial deals
- 21 October: PM announces significant changes to visitor visas for Chinese tourists for the benefit of the British economy
- 21 October: UK and China join forces to boost creative and technology industries
- 21 October: Hinkley Point C to power six million UK homes
- 21 October: Boost for global health as UK and China agree 2 billion of healthcare trade and investment deals
- 21 October: Joint press conference with David Cameron and President Xi Jinping
- 21 October: Alibaba and China Britain Business Council collaborate to remove counterfeit goods
- 21 October: Joint press conference: David Cameron and President Xi Jinping
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