By Rui Hu, iChongqing News

Chongqing - On June 10th, the British Consulate General in Chongqing held the Queen's Birthday Party in Chongqing. More than 300 guests from Chongqing and the UK gathered to celebrate the achievements of the bilateral trade investment, technological innovation, and cultural education.

Cecille El Beleidi (2nd left), Consul General of British Consulate-General Chongqing

Cecille El Beleidi, Consul General of British Consulate-General Chongqing, gave a welcome speech on the celebrating ceremony: “The United Kingdom and China have a truly constructive partnership based on the strong government to government, economic and people to people relationships. Together we have achieved much.”  

Cecille El Beleidi`s opening speech

According to Cecille El Beleidi, “More UK companies are looking to the southwest and recently a delegation from the Midlands Engine visited Chongqing to reinforce their relationship with the Municipality. Under the MOU we signed with the Commerce Commission last year, we are determined to work hard to keep the important business strand strong”, she said. “As China’s second-biggest research partner, we are already building on an exciting and innovative future together. Chongqing and Wales have agreed to establish the first joint research and development center relating to compound semiconductors, and we are looking forward to demonstrating UK strengths in innovative smart technology at this year’s Smart China Expo”, she added.  

Singing performance at the party

As China's second largest research partner, the UK is working with China to build an exciting, innovation-driven future. Chongqing and Britain's Wales are about to establish China's first joint semiconductor R&D center. The British Consulate will also organize British companies to participate in 2019 Smart China Expo in Chongqing in August to further demonstrate the UK's advantages in innovative smart technologies.

The food at the party

Mark Christopher Field, Minister of State at the Foreign Office, visited Chongqing last year, and Cunrong Wu, the vice-mayor, visited the British, to enhance the relationship between the British and Chongqing, both joining a series of senior visitors to and from SW China.

The UK China trade and economic relationship, worth £68.5bn a year, is strong and growing significantly. Chongqing is adding to that weight with bilateral trade in goods last year, reaching over a staggering £750 million, an 18.8% increase from 2017.  The UK remains very much open for business, and Chongqing businesses are taking advantage with investments to the UK amounting to over £46m.

The non-governmental exchanges between the two countries also show the breadth and depth of bilateral relations. In 2018, the number of visas issued by the UK to Chinese citizens accounted for 25% of the total number of visas issued by the UK worldwide. More than 50,000 visa applications from Southwest China increased by 17% compared with last year. There are nearly 15,000 people applied in Chongqing.