On 17 March, Chinese Consul General Tang Rui met with Mr. Manning, Managing Director of Invest Manchester, and Ms. Smith, Director of the Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub, to exchange views on deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and Greater Manchester.

Consul General Tang noted that over the past decade, Greater Manchester has achieved rapid transformation and development, with an average annual economic growth rate of 3.1 per cent — twice the national average of the UK. He highlighted that the recent successful visit to China by Prime Minister Starmer has opened a new chapter in China-UK relations and brought new opportunities for cooperation between China and Greater Manchester. He expressed the hope that both sides would seize the opportunity of the 40th anniversary of the twinning between Wuhan and Manchester to achieve new and tangible outcomes in bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

The Greater Manchester representatives noted that the Invest Manchester and the Great Manchester Business Growth Hub are actively preparing for the visit to China this June led by Councillor Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council. They expressed their readiness to further facilitate the deepening and better development of economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.