'New heights' in Sino-British trade and investment

Stephen Phillips, Chief Executive of the China-Britain Business Council.

As the China-Britain Business Council celebrates its 60th anniversary, its Chief Executive Stephen Phillips sees trade and investment reaching new heights.

"As Prime Minister David Cameron embarks on his visit to China, one point on which we can be unequivocal is that the UK-China trade and investment relationship is strong and getting stronger at an unprecedented rate," Phillips said.

"This is, of course, excellent news for both countries and for our businesses.

"But at the CBBC we firmly believe it is a commercial relationship that still has not yet reached its full potential by any means," he said.

In recent months, a number of senior ministerial visits from the UK to China have conveyed the message that the UK welcomes business with China and fully intends to realize the immense potential for further development.

This buoyant mood - supported by a healthy political dialogue - should send a clear message to British and Chinese companies alike that this relationship is both a tremendous opportunity for the future; and is happening now.

Cameron said earlier this year that the British government highly values its trade and investment relationship with China, emphasizing that each country has much to offer the other and his government is working hard to maximize the potential of the cooperation.

Phillips said "at CBBC, as we enter our 60th year of supporting UK-China trade and investment, we have witnessed the first-hand remarkable progression of the relationship."

"Recently that progression has veered ever upwards and the present economic situation is unprecedented."

UK exports to China have quadrupled since 2002 and doubled since 2009.

The latest figures from the UK Office of National Statistics put the total value at 10.5 billion pounds ($16.8 billion) for 2012.

In the first quarter of this year, the average monthly exports to China broke the 1 billion pounds barrier for the first time.

And UK exports to China increased faster last year than those of France, Germany and Italy for the third year running, according to data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

The latest data from China Customs shows that Britain became the country's second-largest trade partner in the EU in the first 10 months of 2013.

Chinese investment in the UK is also flowing.

In 2012, China was the third-largest investor in the UK by volume of projects.

A rapidly growing proportion of the investment is coming from the private sector, although State-owned enterprises such as Sinopec and CNOOC continue to take advantage of the UK's open investment environment by concluding billion-dollar deals this year for stakes in North Sea oil and gas.

"At CBBC we see China's 'going out' strategy as an ideal foil to the UK government's open policy on inward investment.

"The surge of confidence among public, private and individual Chinese investors only underlines that we are not alone in this view," Phillips said. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne heralded a "new dawn" during his visit to China in October as he announced a deal with China General Nuclear Power Group to take a stake in a new nuclear power plant in southwest England.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson declared himself delighted by a 1-billion-pound deal with ABP earlier this year for the construction of a state-of-the-art business district at the Royal Albert Docks - one of many Chinese investments in London that have been announced in the last 12 months.

The telecom equipment maker Huawei, which already employs a staff of 800 in 12 offices in the UK, this year cemented its status as one of the leading investors in the UK by committing to inject a further 2 billion pounds in the next five years that will double its UK workforce.

There are many reasons for the UK to be such an attractive destination for Chinese investors.

They are attracted to a diverse range of fields including aerospace, advanced manufacturing, financial services, energy, infrastructure and life sciences, as well as a deep, international talent pool.

But perhaps its advantages to Chinese companies are best demonstrated by some of the business leaders who have decided to invest billions in the UK.

Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, China's biggest commercial real estate developer, said "the London property market has excellent investment opportunities".