On 14th June 2019, Consul General Zheng Xiyuan was invited to attend the Visit Leeds China Forum launch event at Leeds City Museum. Consul Lyu Xiaomei accompanied him.
In his speech, Consul General Zheng expressed his congratulations to the establishment of Visit Leeds China Forum and thanked Leeds City Council for its positive contribution to the promotion of Sino-British friendship. He pointed out that as the second largest financial centre with the highest employment rate in the UK, Leeds had attracted much attention from China for its development prospects. The University of Leeds cooperates closely with Chinese universities and colleges and currently there are approximately 5,000 Chinese students studying in Leeds. For the past 31 years since Leeds and Hangzhou tied their friendship, the twin cities have carried out close exchanges and by joining forces together, they will have broad prospects for cooperation. The establishment of Visit Leeds China Forum will help to integrate local resources, strengthen cooperation with China, enhance the impact of Leeds in China and attract more Chinese tourists and enterprises to visit Leeds and promote business. The Consulate General is willing to cooperate closely with Visit Leeds China Forum to actively introduce resources from all parties and help Leeds expand the width and depth of its cooperation with China.
Councillor Judith Blake CBE, Leader of Leeds City Council, thanked the Consulate General for providing Leeds with long-standing and strong support in communicating and cooperating with China. She said that Leeds City Council had specifically set up the Visit Leeds China Forum with the aim to create an ideal destination city in northern England for Chinese tourists. Chinese and British enterprises and institutions are welcome to join in and share cooperation information and resources with China.
