Strong potential for cooperation to usher in "golden era" in Chinese-British relations

China and Britain now find themselves in a "golden era" of their relationship with plenty of potential for cooperation, said Jin Xu, minister counsellor of the economic and commercial office of China's embassy in Britain.

"The year of 2016 is the beginning of China's 13th Five-Year Plan, as well as the golden era of Sino-British relationship," said Jin in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Their relationship will build upon the bilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of both countries held earlier this year, Jin said.

China's Belt and Road proposal and Britain's National Infrastructure Plan, along with the Made in China 2025 and Made in UK 2050 strategies will enhance partnerships between the two countries, he said. Other areas of cooperation include China's Yangtze River Economic Belt and Britain's Northern Powerhouse strategy.

The Belt and Road initiative and Made in China 2025 are among the highlights of the draft outline of China's 13th Five-Year Plan on national economic and social development unveiled on Saturday during the annual session of the National People's Congress.

Jin stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries, pointing out that the aggregate economic value of Britain and China combined is 13 trillion U.S. dollars, or 17 percent of the world's total.

Jin talked about "new opportunities in cooperation on trade and investment" between the two countries. "During the period of 13th Five-Year Plan, the world will see a more open Chinese market; meanwhile, Britain's high quality products and services will be more popular in China."

Jin said that British investment will enjoy a fairer, more transparent environment and Chinese enterprises will make greater efforts investing abroad. "There will be more Chinese enterprises to invest in Britain, he said.

On financial cooperation, Jin mentioned Britain was the first Western country to join the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank proposed by China, which not only set a demonstration for other Western countries, but also opened a new page of financial cooperation with China.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Renminbi (RMB) has joined the SDR Basket, which will accelerate the internationalization of the RMB and boost the opening of China's capital market to the world.

"Britain and China share a promising future cooperating in many fields, such as increasing the scale of bilateral currency swaps, establishing London as an RMB offshore market center and pushing forward a feasibility study on a "Shanghai - London Link," he said.

The two countries also face new opportunities in innovative research and development, he noted. Britain has built up a reputation for scientific research while China is striving to become a strong manufacturing country to better implement its "Made in China 2025" strategy.

Enterprises from both countries will be able to co-fund new technology, which will bring mutual benefits to both sides, he said.

In addition, Britain's advantages in modern service industries such as finance, law, and marketing are also urgently needed in China, said Jin.

Furthermore, plenty of room exists for both sides to forge closer ties on infrastructure expansion, regionalization, urbanization and green energy, he said.

Working together will "expand the employment opportunities of Britain and increase the quality of life for more individuals," Jin said."Meanwhile, closer China-Britain ties will play a vital role in boosting China-Europe trade and boost global economic growth." Endi