00:00Let's get more on that meeting. I spoke earlier to Chris Torrance, Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China.
00:06I think it was very positive. I was fortunate enough to be in the room.
00:11So from my perspective, I was surprised not only by how friendly and cordial the meeting was,
00:19but also by how pragmatic both sides were.
00:23I think quite quickly after acknowledging the positive side of actually meeting face to face,
00:31I think we got down to some issues which faced both sides.
00:37And I think that degree of pragmatism and that willingness to talk about some of the big issues was what really marked the meeting.
00:45And I think that set the stage for a much stronger relationship going forward.
00:49Have you felt a change in Beijing-London relations in the past year with the UK government making it clear they really want to reset relations?
01:01Absolutely. It's like chalk and cheese, to be honest.
01:04Since the election with the new UK administration, we've just seen a coherent strategy,
01:10one based on pragmatism, as I've said, on a willingness to try and bring some stability to the relationship on mutual respect.
01:20So that consistency is really, really helping.
01:23And we've had a succession of senior government leaders helping to emphasize the UK's desire to build a stronger trading relationship with China,
01:32whether it was former Foreign Secretary David Lammy last autumn, Rachel Reeves the Chancellor for the Economic and Financial Dialogue in January,
01:41and now most recently with Minister Peter Kyle stepping into his new role.
01:47It really helps to move the dial for UK business, and it helps us as a chamber representing British companies to build a stronger relationship
01:59and start to deal with some of the challenges, for instance, around market access for some of our key sectors.
02:05But previously, we just couldn't get the traction.
02:08We didn't have the access to Chinese government stakeholders.
02:12So, yeah, it's been fantastic, and we're really hopeful that this is going to continue because it just really helps with UK investment into China
02:20and also, I think, Chinese investment coming back to the UK.
02:25What would you like to see happen next?
02:29Well, continuing visits by senior leaders, it's always helpful because, like I said,
02:35that senior government engagement after the leaders leave, it just creates a much better environment.
02:42We have seen huge investment by UK healthcare, and I think where that sort of intersects with technology around medtech, biotech,
02:52I think that's a fantastic opportunity for UK business.
02:56China obviously has its own healthy 2030 government policies.
03:00So where we align between UK trade and industrial strategies and China's own longer-term strategic goals, that's really the sweet spot.
03:12So healthcare, technology, you know, UK has tremendous capabilities around AI innovation and other areas in technology.
03:20And, again, there's alignment there with China's own plans.
03:25So, yeah, there's alignment there...
03:27So...
03:27So...
03:28So, let's go to the UK bringing plans...
03:30So...
03:30So that's the UK...
03:31So...
03:32But, yeah, there's not really...
03:33So...
03:33So...
03:34Let's...
03:34So, thank you...
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