Industry leaders from the UK's financial sector have expressed high expectations for deepened bilateral cooperation and two-way investment in light of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's ongoing visit to China.
Starmer arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin a four-day official visit, marking the first trip by a British prime minister to China in eight years. He held talks with senior Chinese leaders on Thursday including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.
The meeting between Xi and Starmer saw both sides express willingness to develop a "long-term and stable comprehensive strategic partnership," with the two countries agreeing to deepen cooperation across various fields.
Financial cooperation has emerged as a key point of the discussions during Starmer's visit, with both nations seeking to build on existing momentum in trade, green finance, and market access.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Thursday, leaders of TheCityUK, a key body representing the British financial sector, highlighted the achievements in China-UK financial collaboration and shared their expectations for the outcomes of the ongoing visit.
"The financial services industry from the UK has a really long track record of working in China and sees enormous potential for more two-way growth in trade and investment. One of the things that we thought has been a really great outcome was China's first issuance of an overseas sovereign green bond that was listed on the London Stock Exchange last year, valued at over 800 million U.S. dollars. So that's a really good example of some really tangible benefits that have happened. We see a lot more potential in areas such as pensions and asset management," said Nicola Watkinson, managing director of the international team at TheCityUK.
The sentiment was echoed by Miles Celic, the firm's CEO, who noted that Starmer's visit could pave the way for more robust economic links between the UK and China.
"This is a really important relationship between China and the UK and financial services. They're both growth markets, they're both markets that are really exciting and really innovative. And in particular, one of the things that we're very excited to explore is around green and sustainable finance. It's important also to look at what we can do in areas such as deepening the trade corridors and the investment flows between our countries. So I think there's a lot to be excited about," Celic said.
Starmer is accompanied by a delegation of executives from over 50 major British companies and representatives from institutions across multiple key sectors. The prime minister and his delegation is set to travel to Shanghai on Friday.
UK PM's China visit to boost financial cooperation: British industry leaders
