On 22nd January 2019, Consul General Zheng Xiyuan travelled to Leeds upon invitation to meet with the Lord Mayor Councillor Latty as well as attending the welcome reception hosted by Leader of Council Cllr Ms. Blake. Consul Lyu Xiaomei accompanied him on the trip.
Councillor Blake joyfully reviewed the progress of exchange and cooperaton between Leeds and Hangzhou since the two cities twinned 31 years ago and said that the trip to China last year had left the Leeds delegation with a deep impression and that they had acquired a refreshed understanding of the importance of future collaboration with China. Strengthening economic and trade ties with major economies worldwide is currently a top priority for the UK. Leeds is an important financial and industrial centre in the north of England and this gives it natural advantages in future development. It welcomes inbound investments from Chinese enterprises to stimulate industries and promote local cooperation with China to continue moving forward.
Consul General Zheng praised Leeds for its successful transition experience and pointed out that the industrial advantage and diversified economic development model of Leeds highly matched China's development needs at the current stage. He hoped that Leeds could make good use of the 2nd China International Import Expo (CIIE) as a platform to increase its recognition in China and use its advantage in professional services, such as financial services, to seize the vast opportunity created by the Belt and Road initiative. During the reception, Mr. Zheng Jiang, First Secretary of the Commercial Section of the Chinese Embassy to the UK, and Ms. Lin Qiujie, Branch Manager of Bank of China (UK) Limited Manchester Branch, respectively gave an overview of CIIE and introduced the operations of the Bank of China in the UK.
