Thank you for your very kind and warm words. It is great to see you all here today. It is great to see your whole team come over Minister Wang.
The JETCO tomorrow is the third major meeting between our governments in less than one year. And that is a cause for real, genuine celebration.
There was our JETCO in Beijing last September, and of course the Prime Minister’s historic visit back in January – the first such visit in eight years.
And I know many of the attendees of that meeting are joining us here today as part of the delegation. And I have to say, thanks to you, it was a huge success.
It unlocked £2.2 billion in new export deals and a further £2.3 billion in market access wins over the next five years.
As a result of that visit we now enjoy visa free travel, making it easier for professionals to travel and do business across China. This is something businesses have repeatedly told us that they are keen to do.
But we also made real progress in breaking down the barriers to trade. That includes China cutting tariffs on UK whisky exports from 10 per cent to 5 per cent – a vital boost to an iconic British sector.
Minister Wang and I were present when the Prime Minister and President Xi were discussing that and it was a real win I think for both of our countries.
But even more important than that, these meetings have been rebuilding a relationship that has been dormant for far too long.
The fact is, in an unstable geopolitical climate, the most important thing we can do now is to talk to each other.
Because talking to each other, even when we have differences, means that we can understand each other.
And by understanding each other, it means that we can work together.
And by working together, we can build stability between us as countries and governments but also for and on behalf of business.
Tomorrow, those talks, and that work, will continue as we discuss how to implement the MOUs that we signed back in January.
And as we discuss how to step up our trading relationship even further.
We have already come to a strong understanding between us.
Our Industrial Strategy, and the Chinese five-year-plan, well I think that they are very well aligned. Some of our sectors overlap. And that creates opportunity for both of our countries.
We’ve already seen some of that opportunity become reality.
British firms across the Industrial Strategy sectors are showing just what they can offer.
Silverstream Technologies has worked with 13 major Chinese shipyards to install their net-zero lubrication technology to new builds and also to retrofits.
Meanwhile Anemoi Marine Technologies has secured £28 million in export value through sales of its Flettnor Rotor Sails.
We’re working together in sport also, with World Snooker agreeing a £15 million five‑year deal in China, including new major events in Chinese cities.
And in life sciences companies like Cultech have partnered with China resources to deliver £90 million in exports and create jobs in Port Talbot in Wales.
But where I’m hoping we can make some real headway is on services.
Services make up 59% of our exports to the world, but only 42% of what we export to China.
That’s an area where we are a genuine global leader, and where we have lots to offer, especially to Chinese businesses looking to grow and export around the world.
I know hundreds of British businesses are champing at the bit to get their presence in China.
That’s what I want to see as our next steps To get British services on Chinese business’s speed dial.
To bring China to the top of our companies’ minds for expansion. To ensure that as Chinese companies go global, UK professional service companies are their first phone call.
To build a services superhighway between London and Beijing.
Of course, neither Rome, nor London or Beijing was built in a day.
It will take time and it will take hard work to create a relationship that works well for both countries.
That’s why after the Prime Minister’s trip in January, we agreed a new Bilateral Services Partnership.
A structured channel to take forward practical issues affecting UK services, sector by sector, building on the access and political mandate that that visit created.
Under the Partnership, we are working directly with the Ministry of Commerce to address challenges that businesses face in areas where the UK has clear strengths and firms are already active – like financial services, professional and business services and also in education.
As part of that partnership, both the UK and China have committed to establish a Professional and Business Services Matchmaking platform. It will give Chinese companies looking to go global access to UK expert companies that can make that dream a reality.
And work is happening fast on the Joint Feasibility Study on a bilateral Trade Services Agreement.
The sector keeps chasing me on when they can expect to see some more progress on all of these initiatives, so I’m hoping to make some real steps forward in our discussions – if only for the sake of reducing my inbox!
And we are looking forward to hosting our next Economic and Financial Dialogue in London later this year, from which we will announce the next actions and the next steps that we will take together.
And looking further ahead, because we want to keep momentum going, strengthening our work together in the areas that will benefit us both, and opening up new ways for our businesses to work together, to grow together and to learn from each other.
Serious engagement is back. By working together, and talking together, both of our nations will prosper.
Thank you.
Background
- This speech was delivered on 1 July 2026 and checked against delivery.
