UK, China rush to forge business deals

Chinese businesses have pledged to invest hundreds of millions of pounds worth of investment in the UK and formed new partnerships with British counterparts as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to China sparked a surge in bilateral trade activity and investment flows.

During his four-day visit to China last week, Starmer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and secured deals that will see exports worth £2.2bn ($3bn) and market access of £2.3bn, as well as new investment worth hundreds of millions from Chinese businesses. expression from the prime minister’s office.

After the high-profile visit, the two leaders extolled the benefits of cooperation and Xi described bilateral relations as follows: “mutually beneficial.” Starmer, who brought a large delegation of executives from banking, pharmaceutical and automobile companies to China, described the country as vital for Britain’s interests.

Despite the failure to reach a comprehensive free trade agreement, companies across various sectors, including e-commerce group Pop Mart, the toy maker behind Labubu dolls, have announced major investments and partnerships aimed at deepening bilateral ties. JD.comand battery giant CATL.

The rush for a deal comes as the British leader seeks to rebuild ties with Beijing despite US President Donald Trump’s warning that it could be “very dangerous” for Britain to do business with China.

The diplomatic reset also comes as European Union leaders have repeatedly voiced concerns about China’s export surplus spilling into European markets.

Teneo chief executive Gabriel Wildau said overcapacity in China was a “slightly less serious concern” for the UK as the greater role of services in the British economy reduced political focus on competitive threats from Chinese exports.

Wildau added that concerns about critical infrastructure security, espionage risks and technology dependence on China have become the focus of UK policymakers in recent years, subject to stricter scrutiny and selective disintegration attacks.

Similarly, Chinese carmaker Chery Commercial Vehicles is planning to establish a regional headquarters in Liverpool. social media post by the city council. Although few details of the deal have been disclosed, Chery is widely expected It will partner with Britain’s Jaguar Land Rover for its British operations.

Tianjin-based life sciences group Asymchem is planning a major expansion of its UK operations, which will create 150 jobs in advanced research and development and next-generation manufacturing over the next five years, the UK government has said.

In a further sign that Starmer can turn new ties into economic gains, Chinese energy storage manufacturer HiTHIUM has pledged to invest £200 million in Britain and add 300 jobs in the country. The UK government said the Chinese company would provide technologies that would make its network “more reliable”.

Followed agreements AstraZeneca’s Last week’s announcement for a $15 billion investment in China to expand local R&D capacity and increase the workforce by more than 3,000 to more than 20,000 by 2030, according to one company expression.

Separately, British asset manager Schroders said Friday that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., known as CATL, He said that he signed a memorandum of understanding with the company to develop battery energy storage systems in Europe and will also support the battery giant’s international expansion.

Chinese e-commerce conglomerate JD.com It said it would help British brands sell to hundreds of millions of consumers on its platform and provide logistics services to support their online orders. The technology giant will launches online retail platform JoybuyCurrently in beta testing, in the UK in March.

Agreement JD.com It comes as British companies reported that the business environment in China had deteriorated for six years due to persistent deflationary pressure, widespread consumption collapse and intensifying domestic competition, according to a survey carried out by the British Chamber of Commerce in December.

The organization said China’s domestic consumption “shows no signs of returning to the heady days of pre-pandemic spending,” which is hindering sales of luxury goods and high-end brands.

But the industry body added that opportunities were emerging in experience-led spending, a trend that could benefit British companies in sectors such as sports, leisure and wellness.

The survey showed that firms appear satisfied with the Chinese market, with nearly a third of respondents planning to increase investments in the country, particularly to expand operations, establish new partnerships and experiment with localization.

Starmer’s visit also fulfilled a number of other promises by British brands such as Welsh manufacturer Cultech and British bicycle maker Brompton to increase exports to China.

Birmingham Biotech, a British biopharma company, announced the following for life sciences: plans It will scale its operations in China, expecting to achieve sales of around £20 million there in the coming years.

Octopus Energy Group, the UK’s largest energy supplier, said last Friday it planned to: create a new partner China’s initiative with PCG Power for renewable energy trading world’s largest clean energy market.

— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.