UK-China High-Level People to People Dialogue
Creative industries, tourism and sport are high on the agenda for this year’s UK-China High-Level People to People Dialogue.
With culture and creative industries at the heart of the UK-China relationship, today’s UK-China Creative Innovators Forum aimed to nurture collaboration and joint development particularly in the fields of virtual and augmented reality.
Over 30 British companies from creative industries joined the UK delegation to China to participate in the one-day forum, including companies such as BBC Worldwide, ITV Studios, Framestore, and Pinewood Studios.
The forum saw a number of new commercial agreements signed including an agreement between Abertay University - Europe’s leading university for computer games education and Perfect World - one of the world’s largest games companies - on a qualification for Chinese games developers; an agreement between Lion TV and Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation on co-production of a new show; and an agreement between Unanico and Hunan Mango plus China Lion on strategic partnerships for new film projects.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Karen Bradley said:
From sport to tourism to the creative industries, there have never been more opportunities for UK-Chinese cooperation. These thriving sectors will play an important role as our two countries work together to boost trade, exports and investment during this golden era of collaboration.
The People to People dialogue is a fantastic chance to promote some of the best British companies and talent, as we further develop our relationship with China.
The UK-China Creative Innovators Forum comes on the eve of the fourth UK-China High Level People to People Dialogue, co-chaired by the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt and China’s Vice Premier, Liu Yandong.
In other announcements, VisitBritain and Alitrip announced a new partnership to attract more Chinese visitors to Britain, through an online marketplace to showcase great destinations and experiences. The launch also celebrated Hainan Airlines’ partnership with VisitBritain and the airline’s ambitions to expand its UK route network following the new Sino-UK Air Service Agreement.
The day also shone the spotlight on football, with Visit Britain launching a competition to find China’s biggest Premier League fan. UK company STRI launched a new joint venture with China’s Kehua Sports and iRena to develop world-class football pitches.
The events took place as part of the UK-China High Level People to People Dialogue. The Dialogue is a key pillar in the UK-China relationship: it provides a forum to celebrate ties between the two peoples, and a platform from which to drive greater co-operation. The plenary session of the Dialogue will take place on 6 December in Shanghai. Policy strands for this year’s dialogue are education, science, health, tourism, sport, culture and creative industries, youth and regional cooperation, bringing together key themes of creativity, social equity and women’s equality.