Deepening bilateral cooperation brings inclusive feats

The achievements of current China-UK relations are unprecedented, the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom said on Tuesday.

Compared with 60 years ago or even 10 years ago, the bilateral relationship has never been so deep and broad as it is today, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming said at the 65th China National Day Reception in London.

Celebrating the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu said in his speech, "the past 65 years have also witnessed China-UK relations growing from strength to strength."

Hundreds of British business leaders, politicians, scholars and also representatives of Chinese companies attended the reception at the Guildhall in the ceremonial county, City of London.

Britain has become China's second largest trading partner in the EU. China-UK bilateral trade has surged from $320 million in 1972 to more than $70 billion in 2013.

In the recent three years, Chinese investments in Britain have totaled $18 billion. This is more than the combined volume of Chinese investments in Britain in the previous 30 years.

"London has become the largest offshore RMB center outside Asia," Liu said, adding that the yuan will soon become one of Britain's reserve currencies.

China-UK cooperation in science and technology is deepening. "Our two countries have set up a joint innovation fund worth 200 million pounds. This offers strong support for our cooperation in science and technology," he said.

China-UK educational exchange and cooperation is also growing rapidly. 130 thousand Chinese students are studying across the UK. This makes Britain the largest European host to Chinese students. There are 25 Confucius institutes and 94 Confucius classrooms across the country.

China-UK cultural exchanges are in full swing.

The exhibition Ming: 50 Years that Changed China in the British Museum demonstrates an immense interest in Chinese culture across the UK.

Liu said the China-UK financial roundtable, which was also held at the Guildhall, was part of the sixth China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue. The round table created a record of 73 outcomes.

"I am confident that as our political mutual trust deepens and cross-board cooperation strengthens, we will witness new historic moment of China-UK relations," Liu said.

Liu also reviewed China's progress during the past 65 years and introduced China's goals for future. The ambassador stressed that "China is still a developing country with 1.3 billion people," and that the country's development is far from being balanced, coordinated and sustainable. He added that China is taking more actions to improve it.

As the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu revealed his two dreams; achieving greater prosperity of China by realizing the Chinese dream of the revitalization of the Chinese nation and the continued growth and development of the China-UK relationship.

"I want to see continuous advancement of our cooperation in a wide range of areas bringing greater benefits to our two peoples," Liu said. "I firmly believe that realization of the Chinese dream will offer great opportunities for China-UK cooperation. It will raise China-UK relations to a higher level."