Research and analysis

Oliver Letwin’s Visit 24-26 March 2014

Published 16 April 2014

Oliver Letwin visited Shanghai and Beijing between 24-26 March 2013, following-up on his visit to China last May. His visit covered a number of priority areas.

0.1 Attracting Chinese Investment into the UK

Speaking alongside two Chinese Vice-Ministers and HMA, Mr Letwin launched an official guide to investing in the UK for Chinese companies, co-authored by us with a research institute under China’s main economics planning ministry, the NDRC. This is the first guide to investing in a foreign country which has been officially endorsed by the Chinese government. The launch was widely reported in the Chinese and international media, including the Financial Times, the Times and the Daily Telegraph. Supported through the Embassy’s SPF programme, this guide will be distributed across China, and in the context of China’s government-led culture, should encourage many more Chinese companies to address investment opportunities in the UK.

Mr Letwin also met with a number of specific current or potential investors, including Shanghai Pharma, Huawei, Bank of Communications, China Equity and Dalian Wanda, where Letwin was hosted by Chairman Wang Jianlin. who has already committed to invest around £3bn pounds in the UK.

0.2 Encouraging more UK students to speak Chinese

Mr Letwin met Madame Xu Lin, the Chief Executive of the Hanban (the Chinese government agency which promotes Chinese language teaching overseas) to discuss how to realise the ambition to double the number of those learning Chinese in the UK.

The Chinese government, through Hanban, spends around £12m per year promoting Chinese learning in the UK. Madame Xu committed to maintaining that support and showed considerable interest in engaging with us more deeply on the challenge of achieving a systemic change which greatly increases the numbers of teachers of Chinese and Chinese studies at all levels.

The two sides agreed that joint research into the learning of Chinese in the UK, commissioned by Hanban and the British Council and due to report in August, would provide a strong basis for further cooperation.

0.3 Tourism – travel agency roundtable

VisitBritain and UKVI facilitated a meeting for the Minister with a selection of big travel agencies from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to assess progress on the UK’s performance in tourism promotion and visa service in China, following on from similar meetings held during Mr. Letwin’s visit to China last May.

Overall feedback from the travel agencies was that a series of announcements on visa policy improvements by the UK government and high profile marketing from the GREAT campaign had improved perceptions of the UK visa regime and enhanced demand for the UK as a tourism destination.

0.4 Domestic reforms

In Shanghai, Mr Letwin met Dai Haibo, the de facto CEO of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) and the senior Chinese representative at the 3rd December UK-China FTZ Symposium. Discussion focussed on current efforts by the authorities on how to make regulatory systems for established companies sufficiently robust that the rules governing initial investments could be relaxed.

Dai was interested in UK experience, especially on the question of how different government departments work together. Mr Letwin took the opportunity to pass on an invitation for Dai to visit London as part of an upcoming SPF project

In Beijing, Mr Letwin participated in a discussion with leading experts at the Party School on the ‘politics of reform’. Representatives of the Party School set out the unique role it plays in policy formulation, evaluation and implementation. The experts, who deliver mid-career training to senior Party officials, set out the appetite for supply side reforms in China and thorough restructuring of the public sector.

The experts said Premier Li Keqiang’s programme of abolishing licensing requirements had already had a dramatic impact on the number of new business registrations. The School said the goals of ‘efficiency’ and ‘affordability’ were common to China and the UK and praised the UK for tackling reform issues more vigorously than other European nations. Mr Letwin invited the School to visit the UK’s Policy Unit to continue the discussion.

0.5 Comment

Mr Letwin’s visit was a good opportunity to take stock of progress and remaining challenges in our efforts to boost Chinese tourism to the UK at a time when a generation of Chinese are engaging in international travel for the first time.

0.6 Disclaimer

The purpose of the FCO Country Update(s) for Business (”the Report”) prepared by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is to provide information and related comment to help recipients form their own judgments about making business decisions as to whether to invest or operate in a particular country. The Report’s contents were believed (at the time that the Report was prepared) to be reliable, but no representations or warranties, express or implied, are made or given by UKTI or its parent Departments (the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)) as to the accuracy of the Report, its completeness or its suitability for any purpose. In particular, none of the Report’s contents should be construed as advice or solicitation to purchase or sell securities, commodities or any other form of financial instrument. No liability is accepted by UKTI, the FCO or BIS for any loss or damage (whether consequential or otherwise) which may arise out of or in connection with the Report.