Chinese, British companies see great potential for cooperation in various sectors

Both Chinese and British companies expect to deepen economic and trade cooperation across sectors, following British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's call for stronger dialogue and deeper engagement between businesses and institutions in the UK and China at the opening ceremony of the UK-China Business Forum in Beijing.

Starmer pointed to what he described as "real progress" during his visit to China from Wednesday to Saturday, citing China's decision to cut tariffs on Scotch whisky. He also urged guests to strengthen exchanges and turn dialogue into practical cooperation.

The forum was co-organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the British government. It brought together more than 300 guests, including over 60 business and cultural delegates across different sectors accompanying the UK Prime Minister. Healthcare and pharmaceuticals were among the key focuses.

According to Wang Xingli, co-president of Fosun Pharma, China-UK cooperation in healthcare is moving beyond market access, toward cooperation across research, clinical development and manufacturing.

"With their science, our productivity, our technology know-how, as well as AI capabilities, I think we can produce big blockbuster drug together," said Wang.

Financial cooperation also featured prominently.

As a long-established global financial center, the UK plays a key role in international banking and capital markets, while China is expanding its cross-border financial services to support trade and investment with the world.

"We've already seen that London has become the biggest hub for RMB clearing offshore from China. The volumes today are tremendous, about 350 billion RMB's worth of trading and clearing that's going on through London," said Tim Skeet, chief institutional relationship officer at the London Branch of the Bank of China.

"All the major Chinese banks are represented in London, and similarly, most of the UK banks have a presence in China. So there's that cooperation between the two centers is very important for the mutuality of interest that we share in terms of the financing of trade, the financing of investment," said Brendan Nelson, group chairman of HSBC.

Chinese, British companies see great potential for cooperation in various sectors

China's nationwide fiscal spending totaled 28.74 trillion yuan (over 4 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up one percent from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday, as authorities increased outlays for social welfare, education and sci-tech sectors while rolling out measures to shore up domestic consumption.

Data released by the Ministry of Finance of China showed spending on social security and employment rose 6.7 percent. Outlays for education, healthcare, science and technology, and energy conservation and environmental protection increased 3.2 percent, 5.7 percent, 4.8 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively, underscoring efforts to protect funding for key policy priorities.

The spending figures came as China introduced nationwide childcare subsidies in 2025, marking the first time China rolled out broad-based, universal cash payments directly to families.

Governments at all levels allocated about 100 billion yuan (near 15 billion U.S. dollars) for the program, including 90.4 billion yuan (over 13 billion U.S. dollars) from the central government. More than 30 million infants and toddlers have benefited so far, according to official data.

To help boost demand, the Finance Ministry also deployed 300 billion yuan (over 43 billion U.S. dollars) in ultra-long special treasury bonds across four batches to support consumer trade-in programs, encouraging households to replace old appliances and vehicles.

The measures have helped unlock consumption potential and speed up industrial upgrading, the ministry said.

China’s 2025 fiscal spending rises to 28.74 trln yuan