BRI sets up new framework for UK-China cooperation

Since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was launched in 2013, it has provided an important framework for UK-China cooperation in a number of areas, such as transportation, infrastructure, financial and professional services, said Mark Hedley, regional director for Greater London at the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC).

Britain is the first Western country to issue RMB sovereign bonds and the first major Western country to apply for full membership of the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

In early 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May highlighted the importance of the BRI and Britain’s position as a ‘natural partner’ for the initiative during her visit to China.

‘As an international financial center, London takes foreign exchange trading as one of its remarkable features, with its trading volume reaching 40 percent of the world’s total,’ said Yang Aimin, chairman of China Construction Bank (London) Ltd.

‘Currently, the trading volume of London’s daily RMB exchange is as much as China Foreign Exchange Trading Center’s daily trading volume,’ he told Xinhua.

Another key project of cooperation is London-Shanghai Stock Connect which is expected to be launched to provide a direct channel for equity trading between the two countries.

‘Linking one of the world’s largest capital markets with one of the world’s most international financial centers is good news for Britain, China and the wider global economy. It will allow global investors to benefit from China’s growth through London, while Britain-listed companies will be able to access Chinese investors directly,’ said Catherine McGuinness, chair of the Policy and Resources Committee of the City of London Corporation.

In terms of infrastructure, another key milestone was the maiden journey of the Yiwu-Barking train in 2017, the first direct freight railway route linking China and Britain. It provides a more cost-saving shipping option for Chinese and British exporters.
Source: The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China