Keynote Speech by H.E. Ambassador Liu Xiaoming at the Standard Chartered Summit: Advance China-UK Belt and Road Cooperation for Common Development and Prosperity of Mankind

Ladies and gentlemen,

Three weeks ago, Prime Minister May paid a successful visit to China. During the visit, the leaders of our two countries agreed to build China-UK "Golden Era" 2.0.

As the "Golden Era" enters a new stage, I want to share with you my thoughts on how our two countries may enhance cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative.

Over the past four years, the British public gained a better understanding of this Initiative. They are taking greater interest and having deeper participation in it. Our cooperation has produced fruitful results. This is reflected in the following six aspects:

First, our two countries have deepened political consensus.

The important consensus on expanding Belt and Road cooperation was reached during President Xi's state visit to the UK in October 2015.

Prime Minister May again fully recognized the global significance of this Initiative during her visit to China. She believed that the Initiative would create more opportunities for China-UK cooperation.

The leaders of the two countries shared the willingness to expand, elevate and deepen cooperation on this Initiative, with a view to promoting global and regional economic growth.

This political consensus charted the course for the Belt and Road cooperation between our two countries.

Second, China and the UK have deepened policy coordination.

President Xi said, the pursuit of the Belt and Road Initiative is not meant to reinvent the wheel; rather, it aims to complement the development strategies of countries involved by leveraging their comparative strengths.

In China-UK cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative, China stands ready to match our policies with the development strategies of the UK, such as the Northern Powerhouse. If we can do this, we will achieve the multiplying effect.

At the ninth China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue held at the end of 2017, the two countries reached 72 cooperation agreements on macro-economic policies and Belt and Road development.

Our two governments will have deeper exchanges and dialogue on the Belt and Road Initiative.

We will complement each other with our comparative strengths.

And we will work together to explore a third market along the routes.

Third, China and the UK have enhanced infrastructure connectivity.

Let me give you a few examples:

In 2017, China Railway Express ran its first freight train between China's Yiwu and London. This offered a new, on-land option for the movement of goods between China and Britain, opened the last mile of the China-Europe Express Railway and extended the "Belt and Road" to the very western end of Europe.

The Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, which is a flagship project in China-UK cooperation, has entered into construction phase. And Hualong One technology has moved to the second stage of the generic design assessment.

The Royal Albert Dock project, with an investment of ￡1.7 billion from the ABP, is running smoothly.

The first sub-national cooperation park between the two countries, the China-UK Innovation Industrial Park in Qingdao, has started construction. It is expected to inject new vitality into China-UK cooperation at the sub-national level.

Fourth, China and the UK have increased bilateral trade and investment.

In 2017, bilateral trade reached $79.03 billion, with British export to China up by nearly 20%. This is clearly a good sign for the British goods in the Chinese market.

The UK is now the second largest trading partner of China in the EU, and China is the third largest trading partner of the UK.

As of the end of 2017, non-financial direct investment from China totaled $19.14 billion. Over 500 Chinese companies had set up businesses in the UK. Chinese investments are found mostly in high-end manufacturing, infrastructure, and research and development.

Fifth, China and the UK have expanded financial cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative.

In this respect, the UK is leading other major Western countries.

It is the first major Western country to apply to join the AIIB, and the second country after China to contribute to an AIIB special fund.

It is also the first to approve and sign the Guiding Principles on Financing the Development of the Belt and Road.

It is the first to appoint a special envoy to the Belt and Road Initiative, and set up the Expert Board.

It has pledged ￡25 billion in support of Belt and Road projects in Asia.

And it joined China in announcing the establishment of a bilateral investment fund, with an initial capital injection of $1 billion, for projects involving both our two countries and a third market.

Sixth, China and the UK have built closer bond between the people of the two countries.

Closer bond between the people is key to enhancing state-to-state relations.

In recent years, the British culture shows enormous appeal to the Chinese public. And here in the UK, enthusiasm for learning the Chinese language is increasing.

Our two countries have carried out cooperation in a wide range of areas ranging from education to science, from health to cultural and people-to-people exchanges. The latter, in particular, is flourishing.

Currently there are 64 pairs of sister cities between our two countries. Mutual visits topped 1.5 million. This has helped gather public support for the Belt and Road Initiative.

The fruitful results of China-UK Belt and Road cooperation cannot be achieved without the members of the business community who have a strategic vision and a pioneering and innovative spirit. Standard Chartered is one extraordinary example.

During Prime Minister May's visit to China, Standard Chartered and the China Development Bank (CDB) signed an MOU, witnessed by Premier Li and Prime Minister May. This MOU will provide 10 billion RMB yuan to facilitate Belt and Road projects.

As we know, Standard Chartered has operations in 45 markets along the Belt and Road. In 2017 alone, Standard Chartered China was involved in over 50 deals relating to Belt and Road projects. The total value was over $10 billion.

By the end of 2020, Standard Chartered is expected to provide at least $20 billion in financial support for Belt and Road projects.

Here I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to Standard Chartered for these contributions.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Looking ahead, China-UK cooperation on the Belt and Road hinges upon our financial cooperation and relies on the efforts of the business community.

Financial cooperation has been a priority, a highlight and a strong growth point between our two countries.

In recent years, Chinese banks have accelerated their exploration of the global market. In this process, many have chosen to secure a foothold in London. By now, seven Chinese banks have set up branches in Britain.

The People's Bank of China and the Bank of England also have close collaboration. They have co-chaired the G20 Green Finance Study Group and issued the China-UK Strategic Plan for Financial Services.

Cooperation on RMB internationalization is one of the highlights.

The British government issued the first RMB sovereign bond worth RMB 3 billion.

London was chosen by the Ministry of Finance of China to make its first overseas issuance of RMB sovereign bond, also worth RMB 3 billion.

This was followed by the issuance of the first Green Covered Bond in Britain by the Bank of China.

All these have made London one of the most vigorous RMB trading centres and offshore markets. London certainly has a significant role in RMB internationalization.