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Inaugural China-UK Regional Leaders Summit eyes win-win economic cooperation

Xinhua, March 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

China and Britain have concluded their first regional leaders exchange program, which aims to boost business and investment opportunities of cooperation between different regions in both countries.

The inaugural session of the China-UK Regional Leaders Summit, held in London and Sheffield from Tuesday to Thursday, saw senior delegations from multiple Chinese provinces and cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt visiting different parts of Britain to promote stronger regional collaboration.

The exchange program comprised official meetings, forums, seminars, presentations, field visits and the signing of cooperation deals.

Hundreds of delegates, including policymakers, scholars and entrepreneurs from both countries, attended the exchange program. They represented various regions and cities, including Chinese provinces of Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and cities of Chongqing, Chengdu and Wuhan, as well as British cities of Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds and Sunderland, among others.

"The China-UK Regional Leaders Summit is the first institutional exchange program for regional cooperation between the two nations, and I believe it will lead China-UK regional collaboration to a higher level," said Li Xiaolin, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).

The program seeks to assist the coordination of Chinese and British regional development agendas and promote win-win cooperation among different regions, added Li, who is also head of the Chinese delegation.

Britain's Commercial Secretary to the Treasury Jim O'Neill said the summit is "another significant step forward in a new golden era between the UK and China."

"Better connecting our great northern cities is at the heart of our plans to build a Northern Powerhouse, and we can learn a great deal from the work China has done to promote its own city clusters," O'Neill noted.

"Chinese leaders are embracing the opportunities to deepen our ties even further, and play a crucial role to help make our northern cities stronger than the sum of their parts," he added. Endit