Source: International Business Daily
Original title: Bilateral trade volume is expected to exceed 100 billion US dollars (introduction)
China-UK Economy and Trade: Growing Against the Trend, Mutual Benefit and Win-win Results (Theme)
A few days ago, at a regular press conference of the Ministry of Commerce, Shu Jueting, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, said that China has become the largest source of imports from the United Kingdom. Data show that from January to September, the bilateral trade volume between China and the UK exceeded US$80 billion, and China's imports from the UK and exports to the UK increased by more than 25%; China's investment in the UK exceeded US$2 billion, quadrupling year-on-year. The COVID-19 epidemic is still up and down, and China-UK trade and investment have overcome the impact of the epidemic and grown against the trend, showing strong resilience and vitality, which once again proves that China-UK cooperation is mutually beneficial and win-win.
The economic and trade data is eye-catching
China and the UK are each other's important trade and investment partners. In recent years, especially since the outbreak of the epidemic, China-UK economic and trade pragmatic cooperation has developed rapidly. China has become britain's largest source of imports. The UK is China's second largest direct investment destination in Europe and the second largest source of foreign investment.
From the perspective of bilateral trade volume, in 2019, the trade in goods between China and the UK reached US$86.27 billion, With China being the UK's third largest trade partner in goods and China's third largest trade partner in Europe. In 2020, amid the spread of the epidemic and the continued downturn in international trade, trade in goods between China and the UK increased to US$92.4 billion. Since the beginning of this year, China-UK trade has shown a good development trend, with bilateral trade volume exceeding US$80 billion from January to September, China's imports from the UK and exports to the UK increasing by more than 25%, and the annual bilateral trade volume between China and the UK is expected to exceed 100 billion US dollars. According to statistics released by the UK Revenue and Customs Service, China has become the UK's largest source of goods imports for five consecutive quarters in the second quarter of this year.
China's investment in the UK has become a new bright spot in bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Chinese-funded enterprises are extending from traditional industries such as finance, trade and energy to high-end manufacturing, infrastructure, cultural creativity, information technology and other fields in the UK. With a sound legal system and an open market, the UK is one of the most popular investment destinations for global investors. Chinese enterprises attach importance to the British market, there are currently more than 800 Chinese enterprises settled in the Uk, in the UK and Chinese enterprises and the local community deep integration, conscientiously fulfill social responsibility, promote the sustainable development of enterprises, create a large number of local employment opportunities, for the two countries economic and trade cooperation and economic development has made positive contributions.
Ni Yueju, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with the International Business Daily that the rapid development of economic and trade cooperation between China and the United Kingdom has its inevitability. First of all, the economies of China and the UK are highly complementary, the space and potential for economic and trade cooperation are very large, and deepening economic and trade pragmatic cooperation conforms to the common interests of the two countries; second, China and the UK are both supporters and promoters of free trade, and the development of free, equal and win-win economic and trade relations is the common goal of the two countries; third, after the "Brexit" of the United Kingdom, it is actively expanding the "circle of friends" of economic and trade cooperation, and China's continuous market charm, strong anti-risk ability and continuously enhanced determination to open up are of great attraction to the United Kingdom. At the same time, China and the UK are important partners in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, and the two countries have signed a memorandum of understanding on third-party market cooperation. "The overall development trend and prospects of China-UK economic and trade relations are good, and the future can be expected."
The prospects for cooperation are broad
The economic structure of China and the UK is complementary, and the potential for economic and trade cooperation is huge. China is accelerating the construction of a new development pattern and promoting a higher level of opening up, while the UK has entered a new stage of building a "global Britain" and expanding global partners, and the two countries are also facing global challenges such as the epidemic and climate change, and the future Oft-China and UK economic and trade will usher in more win-win new opportunities for cooperation.
The industry generally believes that china and the UK have broad prospects for cooperation in modern financial services, clean energy, digital economy and other fields.
In Ni Yueju's view, China and the UK can increase their efforts to deepen cooperation in three major areas. The first is the financial services industry. The financial services industry is one of the pillar industries of the United Kingdom, and the highlights of China-UK financial cooperation have created many "firsts": the United Kingdom is the first country to issue RMB sovereign bonds and apply to join the AIIB; the "Shanghai-London Stock Connect" was officially opened, and a number of Chinese-funded enterprises were listed on the London Stock Exchange, opening a precedent for the interconnection of China's and overseas capital markets. The UK also has advantages in the financial environment, talent and supervision, and the two countries should strengthen cooperation in financial technology in the future.
The second is the field of innovation. The UK not only has a large number of international famous universities, but also a large number of Nobel Prize winners, with strong innovation ability. China and the UK can deepen innovation cooperation and jointly promote digitalization, intelligence and green development.
The third is the field of great health. The UK not only has the world's top 500 pharmaceutical companies, but also the world's leading medical device suppliers and long-established medical technology companies. In the future, China and the UK can work together in the fields of medicines, medical devices and elderly care services. (International Business Daily reporter Li Ning)
Editor-in-Charge: Sinan Chen