With the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron today trade and business are expected to feature prominently on the talks between the two men with Britain looking to secure greater ties with the burgeoning economic superpower in a bid that could see around £18bn worth of investment for the country. Several key areas where these trade negotiations will be focusing on include the banking, technology, and energy sectors.
With greater infrastructure needs and greater energy consumption, Britain is looking to construct nuclear power plants with Chinese money and Mr Cameron will be hoping that this is the first major talking point he can swing in favor of British interests.
Another poignant area for discussion will be the pharmaceuticals market with Britain having one of the most advanced and prestigious research and development sectors in the world, which contributes a tremendous portion to the country’s economy, and China having the world’s third largest market for pharmaceuticals, soon to become the second. This alone could bring billions of pounds into Britain.
In the three day visit, Britain will be hoping to woo Li Keqiang further as trade between the two countries continues to grow and strengthen the bonds between them. Last year, two way trade between the United Kingdom and China was worth a record £43bn and the goods export of Britain grown steadily since Mr Cameron took power in 2010 from £7.6bn to £12.4bn last year and there are high hopes that this trend can continue to increase exponentially.
With the potential for Chinese investment further boosting Britain’s fortunes, now could also be a great time for others to invest in British business as the economy is on the up and the chancellor and Prime Minister set out their stalls as a pro-business government. Greater investment in infrastructure could also see greater spending and an even wider effect on the overall economy with construction also bound to take a giant leap if these infrastructure developments do go ahead.
With Britain seen as a gateway market to the European Union it is a strong prospect for foreign investors and its climb out of economic turmoil in recent years has meant that it has bounded back to being a major economic force in no time but because of its previous turbulent period labour rates remain relatively low and the government still has in place many bonuses and incentives to encourage business into the country. The world’s 4th largest economy with a currency outperforming the Euro, it is perhaps unsurprising as to why it is such an attractive prospect.
With Chinese investment set to boost the UK economy and strengthen ties between two global powers, now is the ideal moment for entrepreneurs and corporations to explore UK company formation and position themselves to benefit from Britain’s role as the gateway to Europe.
