Starmer's visit enhances China-UK ties, demonstrates huge appeal of Chinese market: CBBC chief

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to China has brought vitality to the China-UK relations and further demonstrated the huge appeal of the Chinese market, said China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) chief on Saturday.

Starmer's paid an official visit to China from Wednesday to Saturday, the first trip by a UK prime minister in eight years.

In an exclusive interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Shanghai, CBBC chief executive Peter Burnett highlighted the meaning of Starmer's visit that filled the eight-year gap, as well as the fruitful results of the visit, including the signing of a series of memorandums of understanding (MoUs).

Burnett also noted that British companies should evaluate their strength and take an active and earnest part in the booming Chinese market.

"I think they're very significant. It's been, as we all know, eight years since a Prime Minister from the United Kingdom has visited China. And that has created a vacuum and a gap which needed to be filled very, very rapidly from a business perspective. And the MoUs of the tangible outcomes and the agreements that have been signed. And I think people need to look below the surface of the MoUs substantially of what is being proposed, because it's really meaningful. I think in particular, for example, services are a major component of the UK economy, a major strength of the UK economy and somewhere where we believe that we can contribute a great deal to support China. China needs more services, large British companies should be engaging today in China, particularly as they want to grow their businesses through collaboration and cooperation. British companies need to think about their domestic capabilities in China. So we had an example from one company that said that they developed a product domestically in China for the Chinese consumer, which is now going global. So it just shows you that China is now the source of global trends. Increasingly, you're developing product capability in China and taking that overseas," said Burnett.

The high-level business talks between the two sides have been lively, which demonstrated the importance of the Chinese market to many British businesses, according to Burnett.

"It's been a huge relief. I have to say, first and foremost, to have the Prime Minister here. The big business delegation, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which is the equivalent of your Ministry of Commerce, they've been very, very active, they've been very, very busy. And that more importantly than all of that is, they've obviously had their very high-level meetings with the President, with the Premier, with the Minister of Commerce and a number of other officials in China. Those have been critically important, but they've also spent a lot of time with the business delegation, and the business delegation of course loves that. And they've learned, I think, from the business delegation just how important this trip has been and just how important the Chinese market is for so many British businesses," he said.

Starmer's visit enhances China-UK ties, demonstrates huge appeal of Chinese market: CBBC chief

International cruise ships brought more than 8,000 tourists to Shanghai over the past weekend, underscoring the growing momentum of the city's tourism market.

Last Saturday, two cruise ships, the Spectrum of the Seas and Mein Schiff 6, arrived in Shanghai with nearly 6,000 tourists, setting a new single day record for daily inbound arrivals at the city's Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal.

Two more ships, the MSC Magnifica and Adora Magic City, arrived the next day, docking alongside Mein Schiff 6. For the first time this year, the terminal received three cruise ships docked simultaneously.

Impressed by China's customs services, tourists shared their feelings after landing.

"The service is very good, very fast. Everything is very quick," said a tourist.

"We're going to Disneyland. It's a cool trip," another tourist expressed her expectations.

During the two-day period, Shanghai port handled more than 20,000 passenger entries and exits, more than half of which were made by international travelers. Over 90 percent of them are benefiting from the visa-free policies.

"[I traveled from] Chengdu to here. I'm here to Beijing and Beijing to the UK," a tourist talked about his schedule, whose destinations in China all covered in the visa-free policies.

"Very good, excellent policy, and anything that reduces the amount of time. We had a week in ten days in China already, then we're gonna come back into the city to do some shopping," another senior visitor said.

Authorities have also introduced measures to improve the visa process.

"To ensure a smooth entry, officials will get on the ships in advance to perform inspections. So, passengers can start their trips as soon as they disembark. While at the airports, we have also provided an online submission system for arrival cards. That will also save their time," said Zhu Xiaoxiang, Deputy Director of Immigration Inspection Division under Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection.

So far this year, Shanghai's customs and immigration agents have processed more than ten million visitors, with 305,000 international passenger trips through cruise terminals, marking a prosperous tourism market.

Over 8,000 cruise passengers touch down in Shanghai, providing major tourism boost