China strives to create new growth drivers for economic, trade cooperation with Britain: commerce ministry

China plans to sign trade and investment cooperation agreements with Britain during Prime Minister Keir Starmer's upcoming visit to the country, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

These outcome documents will help create new growth drivers for bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the spokesperson made the remarks in response to a media inquiry.

"China attaches great importance to economic and trade cooperation with Britain and is actively working with Britain to prepare for the economic and trade cooperation outcomes from the visit, as well as a meeting of Chinese and British entrepreneurs," the spokesperson said.

Chinese and British companies have shown keen interests in the meeting, and more than 100 of them have registered to attend, the spokesperson added.

According to the spokesperson, the economic and trade relations between China and Britain have maintained sound and steady development. In 2025, bilateral trade in goods reached 103.7 billion U.S. dollars, trade in services is projected to exceed 30 billion U.S. dollars, and the stock of two-way investment is nearly 68 billion U.S. dollars.

Britain has served as the guest of honor at the 25th China International Fair for Investment and Trade and the Fourth China International Consumer Goods Fair, demonstrating the vibrant and pragmatic cooperation between the two countries.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce is willing to work with the British economic and trade authorities to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen communication on economic and trade policies, create a fair and transparent business environment under the rule of law for cooperation between enterprises of both sides, and continuously elevate bilateral economic and trade relations to new heights, said the spokesperson.

At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, the British prime minister will pay an official visit to China from Jan. 28 to 31, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced earlier Tuesday.

It will mark the first visit by a British prime minister to China in eight years.

China strives to create new growth drivers for economic, trade cooperation with Britain: commerce ministry

The 2026 Qixi Festival Gala, produced by China Media Group (CMG), got underway at 20:00 Beijing Time on Wednesday, marking the annual celebration of one of China's oldest and most cherished traditional festivals.

The Qixi Festival, also referred to as the Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on the seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunar calendar. It dates back more than 2,000 years and was inscribed on China's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.

The festival's enduring romantic association stems from the legends of the cowherd Niulang and the weaver girl Zhinyu, star-crossed lovers separated by the Milky Way who are permitted to meet only once a year when a flock of magpies forms a bridge across the heavens.

In ancient China, young women celebrate the festival by praying to Zhinyu for clever hands and domestic talents. Today, couples usually spend the day by exchanging gifts and many partners choose this auspicious date to register their marriages or hold collective traditional weddings.

This year's gala centered on the motif of a bridge, linking ancient myth with contemporary life.

A travelogue performance themed around the mythological bridge ran through the entire event, which featured songs, dances, traditional operas and ballet.

A highlight of the gala was a micro-film which explores shared Qixi customs between people from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Among the evening's touching highlights was a short film featuring the enduring romance of 88-year-old Chinese radar technology expert Ben De, recipient of China's 2026 State Preeminent Science and Technology Award, and his wife. The award is the nation's highest honor for scientific and technological achievement.

This year's gala centered on co-creation, featuring segments with real couples from across the country to jointly celebrate the millennia-old traditions through contemporary expressions of love.

CMG airs special TV gala to celebrate China's 2,000-year-old love festival