00:00Mark Clayton is chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce, South China.
00:04I asked him about the importance of this event, particularly for British business.
00:09Due to the level of engagement we've seen between the UK and China,
00:14for example, we've seen more engagement in the last six months than in the last six years combined.
00:19And that's allowed an environment for more collaboration between UK and China
00:24and more opportunities for UK businesses.
00:26So this show coming at this time, where the UK is the country of honour
00:31and had a large pavilion there with media, with KOLs, it's a really good opportunity.
00:36This expo, of course, is coming at a very difficult time,
00:40given the global uncertainty that's been brought about by Donald Trump's campaign of tariffs.
00:45What are people discussing in light of this current climate?
00:50So the tariff situation has obviously come up.
00:53It's come up a few times.
00:54Me personally, I own a factory called China to West, and we export 60% of our goods to the USA.
01:00So it affects and disrupts my business, personally.
01:04But at the China Consumer Show, where the UK is the country of honour,
01:09it's only really come up in passing.
01:11People are optimistic that what they're doing here is not really affected.
01:17It's insulated in a way that China still has such a large market and the UK is trying to import its products to sell in China.
01:25And the US, yeah, we hope it doesn't go on too long.
01:29We hope it resolves itself without creating a global recession.
01:33But right now, even though it's being brought up, it's, yeah, there is a portion of optimism.
01:38Is there any sense of possible knock-ons?
01:42You know, the tariffs, most notably between the US and China, could it inevitably mean a knock-on for British businesses such as yours?
01:51For myself, yes.
01:52Due to me being a manufacturer in China that exports, yeah, it usually does affect us.
01:58So we're trying to reposition our offering, which we're looking at India as well, as an example.
02:04And I know a lot of other people are as well.
02:06But on the ground here, there is obviously the concern that there could be knock-on effects that could impact the consumer market,
02:13where some people get nervous about spending money, they save money.
02:18The Chinese are, as a nation, very large savers rather than spenders.
02:23So there is that sort of nervousness.
02:25But we're also quietly confident that there will be quite a large stimulus package by the Chinese government
02:32directed towards consumption coming in the next few weeks.
02:37Is there also perhaps the opportunity, given this global uncertainty,
02:42to strengthen economic ties between the United Kingdom and China?
02:46Definitely.
02:47You're spot on there.
02:48There really is.
02:49Today has shown that.
02:50We had the Right Honourable Douglas Alexander, the Minister for Economic Policy and Trade,
02:59sorry, Economic Security and Trade Policy, come to the show.
03:03He did an opening remark at the opening ceremony.
03:07He also hosted a government-to-government dialogue with the governor of Hainan Province
03:13and the party secretary of Hainan Province, and it shows that there is opportunities.
03:20As we do more dialogue, then the Chinese as a country and as businesses and as local government
03:26open more up to UK businesses.
03:28We've become sort of like a friendly country, a friendly nation to do business with here.
03:32So, whilst the U.S. may be retracting from globalization, there is a huge opportunity here for British businesses,
03:41as long as this dialogue and engagement continues.
03:44Which are the sectors that you're most excited to see development in?
03:48Things like life sciences, legal services is a big one,
03:52because China is starting to develop more and become more aware of the requirement of legal services,
03:58professional services. So, that's a really a strong point in the UK itself, the British business,
04:04but something we can definitely export into China.
04:07I'd also say energy and the creative sector as well.
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