Scope, November 2013 (British Sinophile)

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t has been a busy month forChina-UK relations. It’sbeen an equally busy monthfor us, here at BritishSinophile. Having been

founded somewhat unofficially in June ofthis year over in Beijing, this Novemberissue of Scope marks the launch of our UKarm. From here on in, we’re taking thingsseriously.

Our research team has been working hardover the last few months, gathering,reading, logging, tracking and analysingevery piece of China-related news so thatour readers don’t have to. British Sinophilewas founded on the observation that formost ordinary people it’s just too difficult totruly follow and understand what is goingon in China. The volume of news certainlydoesn’t help, but having the rightcontextual knowledge also plays a part. Yet,these ‘ordinary’ people are the very oneswho need to know about what is happeningin China, and most importantly how itaffects them directly. This is where BritishSinophile comes into its element, keepingyou up to date with all the right facts.

I would like to take this opportunity to givea shout out to our fantastic team ofcontributors who have given hours andhours of their time over the last few months,with few gains to show for it. I feel verylucky to have been able to assemble such agood team of committed, enthusiastic,intelligent and hard-working individuals. Iwill forever appreciate their work and hopethat it pays off for them soon. As BritishSinophile grows, so too will their names aspremier China-watchers. In particular, Iwould like to mention John King, myAmerican friend still freezing it out inBeijing. Without his experience andmentorship, none of this would have beenpossible. That aside, he’s just a really niceguy.

On this note, I would like to invite anyonewho thinks they would have a vagueinterest in getting involved. BritishSinophile is always looking for talented andenthusiastic contributors to help us grow.Please see our website for details.

With this, I hope you enjoy our first editionof the new Scope

FROM THE EDITOR

I


4

OUR TEAM

francesca batchelor, aaron filous, ben halder, john king,pinky lee, adam mashongamhende, joe schubert

EDITOR adam knight

CONTENTS6

This month in China

20Boris Johnson: The face (and hair)

of China-UK relations

22City Diplomacy: Growing ties between

cities in China and the UK

24Made in Britain, Sold in China

14China-UK relations this month:

BACK ON TRACKAdam Knight

Ben Halder

Joe Schubert

Pinky Lee

INTERNATIONALRELATIONSTHIS MONTH IN CHINA

China’s Premier, Li Keqiang pushed forgreater cooperation between China and theAssociation of South-East Asian Nations(ASEAN). In an address to ASEAN leadersin Brunei, China’s second-in-commandcalled for greater financial ties between theircountries and China, Japan and SouthKorea. He also encouraged an increase insecurity exchanges, an expansion of thefree-trade area and promotion of regionalpeace and stability. He also stressed theimportance of strengthening the $240bnforeign exchange pool that was set up in2000 as a safety net in the wake of the Asianfinancial crisis.

Li Keqiang further addressed regionalcooperation in calling for completion of theRegional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) by 2015. The RCEPlooks to promote trade and relations

between ASEAN member states andAustralia, India, Japan, New Zealand andSouth Korea. The Chinese government arekeen to push through the RCEP beforeAmerica is able to finalise its own free tradeplans, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),which excludes China. There are fears thatthe TPP would restrict Chinese influencein the region whilst allowing the US greatersay over finance and trade in Asia. TheRCEP has been hindered by on-goingdiplomatic disputes in the South China Sea.

China openly criticised the USA and Japanfor their stance over the various SouthChina Sea disputes. The USA and Japanrecently backed The Philippines in callingfor arbitration over territorial disputes inthe area. China’s claim to most of the SouthChina Sea is disputed by a number of states,including The Philippines, who havecontinually refused to open talks over thelegal status of the islands in question. Thearea is of particular interest due to its busyshipping lanes and potential oil and gasreserves. China’s Foreign Ministry hasasked the US to stay out of affairspertaining to China and ASEAN’s handlingof the situation.

China’s state news agency, Xinhua, hassuggested that the world needs to ‘de-Americanise’ in the wake of the USgovernment shutdown. They suggest thatthe world is far too reliant on “ahypocritical nation”. The article strongly

He whoever has had experience with chopsticksunderstands that one single chopstick won't do the work ofputting food in the mouth. To do the work, a pair ofchopsticks are needed. And when a bunch of chopsticks aretied together, they won't break easily.

Li Keqiang on why ASEAN should sign a free-trade pact with China

$128US Treasury Bonds

Owned by the Chinese government -more than any other country.

t r i l l i o n

6

UK Chancellor of the ExchequerOsborne’s recent trip to Beijing removedany doubt that economics can’t prevail

over petty political differences and that Sino-British relations are not only strong, but important to China.The recent accords which, for the first time, have created a direct trade link between the Pound and the Yuan,along with further liberalisation of the Yuan, has granted UK investors the opportunity to invest anywhereup to $13 billion in China’s otherwise restricted Mainland capital markets. The UK’s participation in theprogram, which to date counts only Hong Kong and Taiwan as members, underscores the importance of theChina-UK relationship and cements London’s position as a financial hub ahead of Paris and Frankfurt. ThoughOsborne’s recent official visit to Beijing was billed as an effort in reconciliation, it shows that politicaldisagreements over the Dalai Lama were mere background noise and that economics trumps all. Not only didtrade not diminish during Cameron’s political freeze out, it actually increased by over 7% in 2012, and another2.6% during the first half of 2013. Investments are at an all-time high and cooperation looks set to continuefor the near future. The normalising of relations and continued trading relationship proves that, unlike Norwaywhich has had its relations frozen with China since awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissidentactivist, that the UK is one of China’s most important trading partners in Europe.

Aaron FilousResearcherContributor

IN CASE THERE WAS ANY DOUBT

criticised the US government for itsinability to reach an agreement to resolvethe shutdown and its debt ceiling, andclaims that the world has been undulyinfluenced by the US since the end of WorldWar II. China has reason to be concernedover problems within the US financialsystem, as it holds $1.28tn of US treasurybonds; more than any other country.

China’s human rights record was criticisedat a UN meeting in Geneva. During anofficial review of China’s treatment of itspopulation, the UN Human Rights Councilcriticised China over its continued arrest ofdissidents, use of the death penalty and useof torture. Every UN member stateundergoes this review once every four years.China’s 2009 review recommended that thecountry support the rights of ethnicminorities and reduce poverty levels. Inresponse, Chinese officials have argued thatprogress has been made in improving socialand economic rights owing to its economicgrowth.

During Indian Prime Minister ManmohanSingh's visit to Beijing, an agreement wassigned on border defence cooperation. Thisfollows a standoff between the countries'two armies earlier this year. The deal isdesigned to improve communicationbetween the two countries, whose mainpoint of disagreement is over thedemarcation of several Himalayan borderareas. The deal also covered trade issues

including an agreement to strengthen co-operation on trans-border rivers andtransport.

Chinese news outlets have reported a surgein Sino-Russian relations, particularly intheir trading relationship. Figures showedthat over an eight-year period ending in2012, direct foreign investment by Chinesecompanies in Russia increased 40 times toreach $4.9bn. Russia has also agreed tosupply an additional 10 million metrictonnes of crude oil to China annually overthe next decade. Trade between the twonations is set to rise to $100bn by 2015 and$200bn by 2020. Both the Prime Minister ofRussia and China's President praised thehistory of cooperation between the twocountries and spoke optimistically of futureties.

Politicians in India and in China realise thepotential global economic and political pow-er they would wield if only they could putaside their differences and work together.Unfortunately, this still seems a long way off.Relations have been tense since a brief war in1962 and despite 15 rounds of talks, the vari-ous border disputes between the two coun-tries have never been settled. Combined, theymake up about one third of the world’s popu-lation and large proportion of its GDP - thepotential is definitely there. Relations thisyear have been dominated by attempts to coolthe diplomatic standoff along India’s Lada-kh-China border ahead of Premier Li’s visitin June. Chinese troops had strayed 19kmacross the Actual Line of Control, the currentstanding boundary between the two nations.There, they pitched tents and refused to leaveuntil just a few days before Li’s arrival. Theincident received wide coverage in India, butlittle in China, much to the frustration of theIndian media. India has also expressed fearsthat China is expanding its influence in Ne-pal, part of India’s traditional sphere of influ-ence. China is looking to crack down onTibetan nationalism within its Himalayanneighbour as the country is now home to sev-eral anti-China dissident groups.

When I was at school, I learntLatin and Greek. My childrenare learning Mandarin. Thatis the way the world haschanged.Boris Johnson


BUSINESS &ECONOMYTHIS MONTH IN CHINA

China’s third-quarter economic resultsshowed positive growth of 7.8%, up from7.5% in Q2. The higher-than-expectedresults were influenced by increasedconfidence in the economy and governmentstimulus. Asian markets saw gains inresponse to the news, with Japan provingthe only market to buck the trend. Growthis expected to dip again in Q4.

Following a slowdown in the growth of theChinese economy over 12 of the last 14quarters, Yi Gang of the China Central Bankannounced that he expects China’s overallgrowth to surpass last year’s figure of 7.5%.He also downplayed fears over China’sshadow-banking system and debt.

China reported its worst export figures forthe last three months, down 0.3% on thesame period last year. The figure fell wellshort of the predicted 6% growth. The fallhas been blamed on a slowdown in exportsto America (4.1% increase, down from 7.2%in August) and ASEAN countries (slowingto 9.3% from 30.8% in August). Exports tothe EU, Taiwan and South Korea are alldown. It is clear China’s economic recoveryis still unstable and highly unpredictable.

Yahoo has announced plans to keep a biggerstake in Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd thanoriginally planned after the e-commercegiant’s initial stock sale. Alibaba, theoperator of China’s top C2C and B2Bwebsites, is preparing for its IPO, looking to

raise $15bn. Chief Executive Lu Zhaoxi hadpreviously stated that he envisages thecompany’s annual turnover reaching 3trillion yuan by 2016. This would make itthe biggest e-retailer in the world. Alibaba’srevenue was up 61% in the year to June, withprofits soaring 160% to $717m.

Wal-Mart revealed its plans to open 110 newstores in China over a three-year periodbeginning in 2014. The company will focusits expansion in areas outside Beijing andShanghai and is expected to generate some19,000 jobs across the country. Despite stiffcompetition from local competitorsalongside problems generating economiesof scale, the US company is joint secondplace with China Resources in its share ofthe Chinese hypermarket industry, holding11%.

Starbucks became the latest Western brandto face criticism in the Chinese media for itstrading practices in China. Statebroadcaster CCTV broadcast severalreports stating that coffee prices at Beijingoutlets cost about one third more than inChicago. Starbucks responded by sayingthat this reflects the higher costs of food andlogistics in China. Apple and Nestlé wereboth criticised earlier in the year for highprices in China.

Samsung issued an apology to its Chinesecustomers following a separate report onCCTV claiming that phones were crashing.Samsung generates nearly 14% of its overallrevenue in China. The Korean multinationalwas fined 10m Taiwanese dollars (£210,000)by the Fair Trade Commission in Taiwan forpaying customers to criticise rival productsonline.

ALIBABA GROUP

Starbucks?

8

China’s bank regulator is to significantlyraise the amount of capital foreign bankswill need to hold on their balance sheets. Itproposes to more than triple the registeredcapital requirements to new bankingventures to 1bn yuan (£101.65m) in orderenhance risk management. Registeredcapital is the amount that companies haveto invest in their Chinese operations forobtaining a business licence.

China overtook America as the world’slargest importer of oil. Economic growth,increased car sales and reduced domestic oilproduction from recent flooding hasboosted China’s oil imports, whileAmerica’s shale gas ‘revolution’ hasdecreased US imports.

Beijing signed a 350bn yuan (€45bn)currency swap agreement with theEuropean Union, marking a major step ininternationalising its currency. Theagreement comes as Germany and Britainwork to become European trading centresfor the yuan. France had spoken to Chinaearlier about such a deal. The People’s Bankof China has suggested the deal will improvebilateral trade, investment and financialstability for both parties, decreasing theregion’s reliance on the dollar.

A report by PwC has warned thatcompanies should resist the temptation tomove their operations from China to otherSouth-east Asian countries because ofcheaper production costs. Manufacturingcosts have risen dramatically in recent yearsin China as wages increase and the supplyof migrant labour dries up.

The Chinese government is to open up moreof the public sector to private investment.The Beijing Municipal Commission ofDevelopment and Reform claims that thegovernment are looking to raise 130bn yuanfrom private enterprises to improve a hostof public services.

China’s Security Regulation Committeelaunched a Weibo account. The country’smain securities regulatory body is seeking

to improve transparency and countercorruption in maintaining an account onChina’s most popular micro-blogging site.The account attracted 200,000 followerswithin the first 24 hours of its existence andhas so far been used primarily as a ‘ventingground for disgruntled stock investors’.

Property prices in Beijing, Shanghai,Shenzhen and Guangzhou rose by a recordamount in September. The National Bureauof Statistics also released figures thatshowed 69 of China’s 70 cities are sufferingfrom escalating house prices. The cost of anew home in Beijing rose 16%, whileShanghai homes cost 17% more. Shenzhenand Guangzhou both saw prices rise by20%. Wenzhou was the only city to witnessa fall in property prices, down 1.7%. Thistrend has sparked fears of a housing bubble.

I N D U S T R Y F O C U SCHINA’S SUPERMARKETS

%-68YUM Brand profits down

(Owner of KFC, Pizza Hut - largestforeign restaurant chain in China)

Foreign super-/hypermarket companies have faced stiff competition from domesticproviders in recent months as they fail to capitalise on initial successes in the world’s

most dynamic market. Tesco announced its 6th store closure this year, while Frenchretailer Carrefour was rumoured over the summer to be considering withdrawingfrom China all together. Walmart on the other hand, is looking to open a further 110stores across the country over the next 3 years. They, unlike Tesco and Carrefourhave been able to push deeper into China’s second and third tier cities, where thevast majority of Chinese growth is expected to be generated over the next decade.Other multinationals such as KFC and McDonalds have experienced similarproblems, losing out to domestic brands such as Dico’s in some areas.


10

POLITICSSOCIETY & LAW

THIS MONTH IN CHINA

A car crashed into tourists at Beijing’sTiananmen Square, killing all three peoplein the vehicle and two bystanders. Policedescribed the incident as a ‘violent terrorattack’ and have subsequently arrested fivesuspects in connection with on-goinginvestigations. All three people in the carwere suspected members of the MuslimUighur minority from Xinjiang province.Petrol, knives and separatist flags werefound inside the car.

Shandong’s high court rejected the appealof Bo Xilai, the disgraced former head of theCommunist Party in Chongqing, oncetipped to reach the top echelons of power.He was sentenced in September forcorruption, abuse of power and blocking aninvestigation into the murder of Britishbusinessman Neil Heywood. He received alife-sentence.

A court in Jiangsu jailed one man for life anda dozen other for up to 15 years for theirinvolvement in selling ‘gutter oil’ - cookingoil recycled from drains and sold back torestaurants for reuse. This is the latest in astring of food scandals to have hit China in2013. ‘Lamb’ products were found to in factbe made of rat and mink in April, while ricetainted with metals was removed from theshelves over the Summer.

GPS trackers are to be installed ingovernment vehicles in the latest effort totackle corruption. The Beijing Timesreported that 200,000 government cars havebeen used for personal use. A similar policy

introduced into Guangdong in 2011 claimsto have already saved the local government42m yuan (£4.3m).

A report by the US Congressional ExecutiveCommission claimed that China is doinglittle to resolve the grievances of Tibet’snative population. It cites increasedsecurity, oppression and governmentcontrol, as well as the harsh treatment ofpeaceful protestors, an undermining of locallanguages and traditions, and an increase insurveillance. It also highlighted futileattempts to open talks between Beijing andthe Dalai Lama.

The Tibet Support Committee hassuccessfully filed a case against formerChinese President Hu Jintao alleging humanrights violations in Tibet. The charges referto Hu’s time as the senior official in Tibetbetween 1988 and 1992 and his time asPresident (2003-2013). The group claim thathis policies amounted to genocide in theregion. The Chinese government haverefuted claims and reiterated that thesituation in Tibet is an internal Chinesematter.

During a visit to Europe, Zhu Weiqun,chairman of the Ethnic and Religious AffairsCommittee of the Chinese People's PoliticalConsultative Conference, criticised theDalai Lama. He said the Dalai Lama'sproposed 'high-level autonomy' for Tibet istantamount to full independence and thathe is opposed to such separatism in China.He also commented that China has brought

XINJIANG


POLITICSeconomic prosperity to the region,supported by a figure of 13% growth in theregion in 2012. These comments came amida visit to Brussels to observe how Europeancountries deal with religious issues and tointroduce the PRC's own stance on this.

Some 256 people were put underinvestigation in Xinjiang in early October aspart of the latest police crackdown in theregion. The latest round of inquiries followsa reported spike in the number of peoplepromoting ‘jihad’ online. Activists havecriticised the move as a blow to freedom ofspeech in China.

Qihoo 360, China’s largest free antivirusdeveloper and provider, is suing Baidu,China’s dominant search engine, accusingthem of intruding on Qihoo 360’s traffic andredirecting it to Baidu’s search engine.Qihoo is seeking 400m yuan (£43m) incompensation. Qihoo 360 launched a newsearch engine, So.com, last year andannounced that its market share wasalready approaching 20%.

The mayor of Nanjing, Ji Jianye, was sackedamid the government crackdown oncorruption. He is reported to be underinvestigation for economic crimes andinvolvement in several corrupt constructionprojects. His case is reported to involve 20myuan (£2.6m). Ji has been mayor sinceJanuary 2010 and was also the city's DeputyParty Secretary.

An estimated 120,000 people took to thestreets of Hong Kong to protest the decisionby Hong Kong’s government not to award afree-to-air licence to the Hong KongTelevision Network. Critics claim that thisis due to Beijing-influenced censorship ofHong Kong’s media.

Mainland Chinese journalists must nowundergo mandatory, educating them on howto report the government's foreign policyand other issues. The training is forjournalists from across the whole industry,and will include at least 250,000 journalists.Journalists will not have a licence to report

unless they have passed this training. Thetraining will focus on six subjects: theorieson socialism with Chinese characteristics;the Marxist view on journalism; journalisticethic; laws and regulations; norms in newsgathering and editing and content onpreventing false information. The content ofthis training is thought to encourage theadoption of a hard-line towards countriesthat have territorial disputes with Chinaand scepticism towards democracy andhuman rights.

Following a meeting of the State Council, astatement was released that urged localgovernments and state departments toimplement the proposed measures torestructure the economy. Economic reformshave suffered a ‘lull’ in recent months. TheState Council said that it had streamlinedadministration and taken steps to facilitatetrade and investment as well as to liberaliseinterest rates.

Two officials from Liaoning, in China’snorth-east, have been sacked for carryingout unauthorised renovation work thatruined several Qing-dynasty Buddhistfrescoes. Initial authorisation was grantedby city-level cultural officials. The frescoeswere completely painted over with Taoistfigures.

Chen Yongzhou, a journalist at The NewExpress was detained by police fordamaging the reputation of Zoomlion, a partstate-owned construction company. Chenclaimed that the company had not properlyaccounted for its sales. Shares in thecompany fell as a result. The Guangzhou-based newspaper issued front page-pleascalling for his release on two consecutivedays. In an astonishing turn of events, Chenappeared on national television, apparentlyadmitting having taken bribes from rivalcompanies to defame Zoomlion andapologising for his actions.

Two employees at the Forbidden City inBeijing were stabbed and killed during alunchtime brawl in a staff canteen. Notourist were injured.

A new world order should be putin place, according to which allnations, big or small, poor or rich,can have their key interestsrespected and protected on anequal footing.China’s state news agency, Xinhua,on ‘de-Americanisation’

China’sAnti-CorruptionDriveXi Jinping has made it his mission since

taking office in March to stamp out China’s

rampant corruption, taking on some of the

country’s most powerful politicians and

businessmen. Most famous of all had to be

Party veteran and potential political

opponent Bo Xilai. This month saw another

high profile individual, the mayor of

Nanjing, ensnared in a corruption scandal.

Dozens of lower-ranking provincial

officials have also been purged. This is all

part of Xi’s campaign to catch the ‘big

tigers’ as well as ‘lowly flies’. The effects

have been felt across the economy, however,

as ostentatious signs of wealth have been

officially banned. Sales of shark-fin soup,

luxury watches, high-end sports cars, and

hotel rooms have all fallen. Government

vehicles have had to be re-registered so as to

remove military plates from luxury cars.

GPS trackers have also been retro-fitted to

state-owned vehicles so as to monitor

officials’ movements. China’s media have

heralded this as a step towards greater

government transparency, while some

commentators have interpreted it as a

consolidation of power.

12

ENERGY &ENVIRONMENT

THIS MONTH IN CHINA

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYChina overtook the USA as the world’sbiggest net importer of oil. There is acurrent shortfall of around 6.3 billionbarrels//day between China’s domestic oilproduction and its consumption. Americahas a shortfall of around 6.13 billionbarrels/day. This is partly due to the hugeincrease in demand as China’s automobileindustry in particular continues to expandrapidly. Diplomatic tensions betweenChina and the USA are running high, as theUS foots the bill in terms of providingmilitary assistance to secure shipping lanesand oil fields in the Gulf region. China hasbeen reluctant to commit resources orpersonnel to protect its interests in theMiddle East. Instead, it is trying to offsetits independence on Gulf oil byencouraging acquisitions of oil and gasassets. Domestic Chinese companies haveinvested some £62.6bn in foreign oil andgas in the last five years.

The city of Beijing announced anEmergency Response Program aimed attackling severe levels of smog in the city.Under the new plan, should there be threeconsecutive days of severe pollution (over300 on the Air Quality Index) cars wouldbe banned from driving on an alternatingbasis (dependant on odd or even licenseplate numbers). Factories and certainindustries would be closed, as wouldschools across the city.

Record levels of pollution in the Heilongjiangprovincial capital of Harbin forced schoolsand highways to be closed and flights to bedisrupted. Visibility was reduced to around50m. Local media reports have linked thesehazardous levels of pollution to the localauthorities switching on the public heatingsystem in preparation for winter.

Chinese firms will soon be able to invest inthe UK's nuclear industry. Chinesecompanies will be permitted to own a stakein UK nuclear plants, or own them outright.This followed an announcement earlier thatweek that China’s General Nuclear PowerGroup will be involved in construction of anew power station in south-west England.

As part of its £1.2bn UK investmentprogramme, the Chinese telecoms companyHuawei is to invest £125m in a new researchand development facility in the UK. Rekooalso announced plans to open outposts inLondon's Tech City. Huawei has beenscrutinised in the past for its closerelationship with the Chinese military. Lastyear it was barred from investing in projectsin Australia, Italy and America.As part of the 12th 5-year plan for thetelecommunications sector, China, alreadythe world's biggest smartphone market,plans to invest £200bn in improving itsnetwork infrastructure. It is estimated that

of the 1.2bn total mobile subscribers inChina, 360m would upgrade to 4G coverage.

Lenovo, China’s technology giant, isrumoured to be interested in a buy-out offailing smartphone company Blackberry.Lenovo hopes that acquiring the Canadianbrand will help its smartphone sales, whichhave proved largely unsuccessful outsideChina. The takeover would raise securityquestions in the US and in Canada asBlackberry currently has contracts withboth governments.

A gas pipeline between Burma and Chinahas been fully launched. The project hascost a total of £1.5bn. According to figures,it will transport 12 billion cubic meters ofnatural gas annually and reduce thecountry's dependence on coal by 30.72million tons a year. There has been somecriticism that the project will be largely tothe benefit of Chinese investors howeverChinese authorities argue that the projectis a 'win-win' endeavour. Protests by localresidents put the project on hold at variouspoints.

pm2.51000Level of pollution in Harbin

World Health Organisation advisesthat anything over 25 is harmful.


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14

BACKon

TrackOn the whole, it’s been a successful fourweeks. Our monthly briefing on the changing Sino-Britishrelationship pulls together the various efforts made to refocus thepolitical and economic ties between China and the UK. With David Cameron dueto visit Beijing sometime in the next coupld of months, let’s hope this is just the beginning.


Track

political and economic ties between China and the UK. With David Cameron dueto visit Beijing sometime in the next coupld of months, let’s hope this is just the beginning.

China-UK relations have been through a lot in the last 18 months, but things are finallystarting to look up. It has been a monumental 6 weeks for Sino-British ties, withstrengthened links across various sectors being cemented by a string of ministerialdelegations - the first since David Cameron’s fateful meeting with the Dalai Lama in2012. The limelight was somewhat stolen by Mayor of London Boris Johnson (and to alesser extent, George Osborne) as they met with Chinese politicians and businessleaders in mid-October. Among the flurry of trade promises and investment memoranda,there were several very high profile agreements that look set to raise the bar againstwhich China-UK deals are judged in the future.

VisasFirst of all came the announcement that British visa restrictions on Chinese visitorswould be relaxed. Pressure has been mounting for almost a year now as numerousstudies have shown the extent to which the UK loses out on tourism revenue. Theproblem lay in the fact that the UK has always resisted signing up to the Schengen Area- a group of 26 European countries within which travellers only need one visa to travelwithout further restriction. This meant that Chinese visitors were subjected to an extrafee and added bureaucracy if they wanted to add the UK to their European tour. Manysimply chose not to bother.

A recent report by shopping consultancy Global Blue estimated that even though thevolume of Chinese visitors had risen 800% in the last ten years, the UK was still losingout on £168m of potential sales in London’s West End alone. Britain accounts for just7% of the total number of Chinese tourists in Europe with France attracting 25% morevisitors than the UK. This comes at a time when visitors from Mainland China accountfor more spending around the world than any other nationality. A consortium ofbusinesses was formed earlier this year with the sole aim of putting pressure on thegovernment to reform its visa policy. Among the most vocal of opponents were JohnLewis’ director of retail, Andrew Murphy, and head of British Airways’ parent groupIAG, Willie Walsh. Both men attacked the government for their lack of action, claimingthat the over-complicated visa process was harming UK retailers and making foreignbusinessmen feel unwelcome.

It was with this that Home Secretary Theresa May announced last month that the UK’svisa system for Chinese tourists would be relaxed. Under the proposed changes,Chinese passport-holders will now be able to apply for a tourist visa using the sameform currently used in applying for Schengen documentation. Ms May reiterated,however, that the UK would not be joining the Schengen Area. Recent Home Officefigures have shown that the number of visa applications for Chinese tourists rose 40%between April and June this year. For Boris Johnson, this wasn’t enough, however.Speaking before his China tour, he called for greater changes to the visa process in aneffort to encourage more Chinese tourists to visit the UK.

Visit Britain also announced this month that it had signed an agreement with ChinaUnionPay (CUP) in an attempt to attract more Chinese tourism to the UK. CUP isChina’s only provider of bank cards, acting on behalf of 14 major banks and manysmaller ones. CUP cardholders will now receive promotions marketing the UK as atourist destination. As part of the agreement, Visit Britain will seek to expand thenumber of retailers that accept CUP transactions. Both parties hope that this will notonly draw in more Chinese visitors, but also encourage them to travel further outsideLondon.

16

Perhaps the biggest, but also most controversial deal to havebeen signed between China and the UK this month was GeorgeOsborne’s decision to allow Chinese involvement in theconstruction of Britain’s first new nuclear power station indecades. The project, to be situated at Hinkley Point inSomerset, will be led by the French company EDF with acombined stake of between 30-40% being held by ChinaGeneral Nuclear Corporation and China National NuclearCorporation. The deal centres on a 35-year contract thatguarantees EDF and its partners £92.50 per megawatt hourproduced, more than double the current wholesale price.

The deal with EDF is thought to be worth £16bn with the powerstation becoming active in 2023. Although he made no specificreference to the Hinkley Point project, Osborne did sign amemorandum of understanding (MOU) that will help securethe billions of pounds needed to replace Britain’s aging nuclearreactors.

The deal has, however, attracted a large amount of criticism.Some observers note China’s seemingly lacklustre approach tosafety, as seen in the dozens of mining disasters that happenevery year. Others are scared about the consequences of handingover important blueprints to Chinese companies. With HinkleyPoint set to produce a sizeable chunk of Britain’s future energyneeds, critics worry that it is not wise to entrust information onthe UK’s vital interests to foreign (and not always friendly)powers. China’s state-owned companies have come underscrutiny in the past when bidding for foreign projects. Huawei,China’s largest telecommunications company has been barredfrom infrastructure projects in Australia, Italy and America inprevious years.

Osborne’s agreements came amidst a whirlwind of agreementsrelated to China-UK anergy and technological cooperation. Lastmonth, Energy Secretary Ed Davey led a delegation to Shanghaiwhere he announced several deals to strengthen ‘green’ tiesbetween the two countries. An MOU on offshore wind projects

Those who think [the Chinese economy] is just a low-wage, low-tech economy are making a mistake; it is becoming a cutting-edge player in industries like tech. This is a huge opportunity forBritain – we have some of the most innovative tech companies inthe world and China can be a huge market for their exports.

George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Energy & Science


was signed to ensure closer cooperation inpolicy development, training and increasedaccess to markets. China is currently theworld’s third largest installer of offshorewind after the UK and Denmark, but hasalready laid out plans to increase itscapacity to 30GW by 2020, taking it to thetop spot.

Mr Davey also announced £35m worth offunding for Carbon Capture and Storage(CSS) projects across Asia, focusing onChina in particular. CSS is deemed to be‘critical’ technology in the fight againstclimate change, capturing waste CO2 and

storing it at a location where it cannotenter the atmosphere, normallyunderground. The agreement will createan international CSS network promotingjoint research and development andproviding local and regional governmentswith a new way to exchange knowledge.Such scientific cooperation represents ahuge opportunity for British organisations.A number of UK universities have alreadyestablished research centres in China,building connections with some of China’sbest laboratories.

Mr Osborne highlighted the need forfurther cooperation in the field of scienceand technology on his own visit to Chinalast month, highlighting the huge potentialfor British-based high-tech firms to enterthe Chinese market. He suggested that theUK is well suited to exploit the growingdemand for innovative technology inChina, particularly given the rapidincrease in mobile broadband across thecountry.

Despite a €45bn currency swap with theEU earlier this month, the UK still looksset to become the world’s largest and mostimportant trading hub in Chinese currencyoutside Hong Kong. George Osborne hasspoken on many occasions about hisambitions to see the UK expand its yuan(also known as RMB) trading capabilities.

This month marked a major turning pointin the realisation of these dreams as Chinaagreed to establish an RMB-qualifiedforeign investor scheme in the UK so as toaid onshore asset investment in China.Under this scheme, British and Chinesecompanies will now be able to tradedirectly between yuan and pounds.

It will also open the UK market towholesale Chinese banks. The agreementis the first of its kind outside Asia and onlythe third globally (behind Hong Kong and

FinanceTaiwan). The pound is now the fourthcurrency with which the yuan can betraded directly.

The scheme is not only a huge step for theUK in securing its place as a global tradinghub, but also for China as they seek tointernationalise the yuan in a bid to rivalthe dominance of the dollar. The Chinesegovernment also hopes that the agreementwill boost overseas activity in its equitymarket, which currently makes up only2% of investment. Upon news of the deal,the Industrial & Commercial Bank ofChina (ICBC) announced that it will issuebonds in the UK as of next month. Thiscame as regulations governing foreignbanks in the UK were relaxed, though theBank of England Prudential RegulationAuthority was keen to emphasise that thiswas not aimed at giving preferentialtreatment to Chinese banks.

The UK has more offshore wind installed than the rest of the worldcombined and we have ambitious plans for the future. Together with

China ...we want to make offshore wind a competitive low carbonenergy choice. Our strengthened cooperation will bring significant

commercial and environmental benefits for both countries.

Ed Davey, Energy Secretary

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Even without the substantial investment secured aspart of the UK’s growing nuclear ties with China, thismonth has seen several important trade andinvestment agreements. Largest of all wasconfirmation that the Beijing ConstructionEngineering Group (BCEG) will lead an investmentconsortium in an £800m redevelopment of ManchesterAirport. The project will see offices, hotels andwarehouses built over a 5 million square foot area aspart of an ‘Airport City’, creating an estimated 16,000jobs. The development will be a joint venture betweenBCEG and British construction company Carillion.

The deal came as Boris Johnson praised China for itspast and current foresight in building several mega-hub airports across the country. He pointed out thatHong Kong International Airport (one of the world’sbusiest) among others (a new 9-runway airport isplanned for Beijing) have helped China maintain anddevelop tourist and business connections with the restof the world. Johnson criticised the UK’s dependenceon Heathrow, which he claims is operating atmaximum capacity due to its geographic constraints.He estimates that resisting the establishment ofmultiple aviation hubs in the UK will hinder futureeconomic growth.

Huawei has announced its plans to build a £125mresearch and development facility in Britain as part ofits £1.2bn UK investment programme. Engineers willwork on smartphone design, software and broadbandtechnologies, boosting the number of UK-baseddevelopers from 80 to 300. Huawei employs a total of800 people in Britain, with plans to increase this to1,500 by 2017. The company currently bases its UKoperations in Ipswich, though the location for the newR&D centre is yet to be released. Huawei’s founderand chief executive, Ren Zhengfei, met with DavidCameron last September amid a political backlashagainst the company in the US, where questions werebeing raised over security issues. Mr Ren subsequentlyannounced Huawei’s £1.2bn UK investment scheme.

Mobile gaming developer Rekoo also revealed theirplans to open an outpost in London’s Tech City area.Rekoo attracts 15 million gamers daily and 10 millionsmartphone users and will be the first mainlandChinese company to open offices in the Tech City. Thecompany has developed games for Zynga, Disney andFacebook in the past. The news came as China’s ban

Investment


In a mixed-month for UK retailers inChina, British fashion icon Mulberryopened its fourth China outlet inShanghai, its largest in the country.Mulberry has suffered from poor sales inrecent months as spending on luxury itemshas fallen drastically in wake of XiJinping’s ant-corruption drive. Mostluxury retailers use their China outletspurely as showrooms, however. The idea isto attract Chinese travellers to visit largerstores in Europe or America.

Another symbol of British business successin China Tesco announced that it would

be closing another store, its 6th this year.The shop in particular was Tesco’s first inChina, opened 15 years ago. The retailerhas struggled to compete with local rivalsin recent months. Tesco claimed theclosure was part of a strategic shift andthat it had signed a memorandum ofunderstanding with China Resources inAugust to merge hypermarket businesseson the mainland.

Bentley’s sales in China fell by 17% in thefirst 9 months of this year, compared to a9% in global sales. The Volkswagen-owned company claims that this is due toChinese buyers holding off on newpurchases ahead of the release of Bentley’snewest model, designed specifically for theChinese market. Jaguar on the other handsaw a 122% growth in its China sales.There have been suggestions that as signsof excessive wealth are being crackeddown on, less expensive luxury brandssuch as Jaguar look set to benefit.

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF)reported that UK food and non-alcoholicdrinks exports grew by 2.5% to £6.1bn inthe first half of this year. The growth wasdriven largely by exports to China whobought £45m of pork and animal fat overthe period. This represented an increase of591%, taking total food sales to China to£102m. China is now one of the UK’s top10 international food markets for the firsttime.

Business & Retail

on foreign video games and consoles looksset to be lifted. Companies such as Sony,Microsoft and Nintendo will be allowed tosell products in China for the first time,but only through the Shanghai Free TradeZone. Foreign games previously had to besold through a Chinese company so as toprotect the domestic market.

A new £1bn redevelopment of London’sRoyal Albert Docks has already attracted10 Chinese businesses representing adiverse range of sectors (electrical,commerce, real estate, fashion, education).The Asia Business Port site is due to openin 2017. At the opposite end of the country,the Japanese car maker Nissan putforward plans to open a new productionplant in Sunderland to meet the expecteddemand for its new Infiniti Q30 model,designed specifically for the Chinesemarket.

Britain is currently among the top tennations in the world in terms of thevolume of Chinese investment it receives -more than double the amount of any otherEuropean country. Although largelyconcentrated in the energy sector, Chineseinvestors have in the past targetedcompanies such as Barclays Bank, BP,Diageo and Thames Water. There are alsoseveral UK companies that are controlledor part-controlled by Chinese groups -Bright Foods owns 60% of Weetabix, theWanda conglomerate owns 92% of theSunseeker boat company, while GeelyAutomobile owns UK firm ManganeseBronze, the company that makes Londonblack cabs.

The UK is a centre of innovation, has a highly skilled workforce, and is respectedinternationally for the quality of its legal and educational systems. It is for these reasons wehave selected the UK as the location for a number of our centres of excellence. [It] is home tosome of the best hi-tech professionals in the world. Combined with a free-trade economy, thismakes it a very good investment environment for Huawei.

Ren Zhengfei, founder & chief executive of Huawei

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n 10th October 1980, in front of the Conservative PartyConference, Margaret Thatcher boldly proclaimed “the lady’s

not for turning” in response to call for her to rethink her

liberalisation of the UK economy. Thatcher’s inherentrefusal to do a U-turn over her beliefs is less apparent in themind-sets of her Tory counterparts of today.

During his six day tour of China last week, Boris Johnson,one of the favourites to become the next Tory leader, was onan all-out charm offensive to woo Chinese business andinvestment to London. He was full of praise for China’spublic transportation, airports, culture, people andlanguage and very vocal in stressing how China’s role isimperative to global affairs. This was a complete U-turnfrom his publicly aired opinions eight years previous. In anational newspaper column, Johnson, at the time a MP forHenley, rather bluntly proclaimed “Let me assert this as

powerfully as I can: we do not need to fear the Chinese. China will not

dominate the globe”. During this month’s trip the Mayor

himself admitted that his predictions may have been wide ofthe mark.

The main agenda for Johnson’s trip to China was to attractinvestment, tourism and students to the capital. The arrayof announcements regarding increased Chinese involvementin London’s property, banking and tourist sectors are proof

that Johnson’s trip was a success. Thereare plans for Chinese banks to openwholesale branches in London, providingnew routes of investment for the UKmarket. Ten Chinese businesses signed upto the £1bn Asia Business Portdevelopment at the Royal Albert Docks.And Rekoo, a Chinese technology firm,have agreed to open outposts in London’sTech City. Beyond the headline-worthydeals, Chinese investment in London issure to expand significantly.

It is true that much of this was enabled bychanges in policy at government level;simplification of the visa process forChinese tourists and businessmen wantingto visit the UK, the relaxing of bankingregulations governing foreign banks, andthe establishment of an offshore yuanscheme in the UK. However the role ofJohnson can’t be overlooked.

The results of the Mayor’s visit to Chinathis month could prove very interesting fortwo reasons. Firstly he expanded hisprofile in China (having laid the

O

THE FACE(and hair) OF

CHINA-UKR E L A T I O N S


groundwork at the 2008 Beijing Olympics closing ceremony). Secondly ithighlighted his views on the importance of not merely treating China as asource of short-term investment to kick start the UK economy, but ratherbuilding an understanding of its customs, culture and language to developa long term relationship that will reap lasting rewards for the UK. If hewere to become the next Tory leader (and with that, potentially PrimeMinister) this month’s tour could be an important indicator as to thefuture of UK/China relations.

Johnson was very warmly received in every city his trade mission visitedand received plenty of attention on China’s social networking platforms.His trade delegation overshadowed that of George Osborne, one ofJohnson’s apparent rivals for future Tory leadership, who was in Chinamarketing the UK at the same time.

Osborne’s trip, whilst producing some major announcements regardinginvestment links between the two countries, was much less personable.The Chancellor’s visit was much closer to what would be consideredtypical for a trade delegation of its sort. Whilst Johnson was expandinghis celebrity, Osborne stayed largely in the background; seeminglycontent with his more formal role.

During a joint appearance at Peking University in Beijing, Osborne’s claimthat his daughter was studying Mandarin was quickly trumped byJohnson; whose daughter was planning to visit China this month as partof her studies. Whilst Osborne may have dominated the economic pagesof newspapers back in the UK, it was Johnson who stole the spotlight atpublic appearances and on social media sites across China.

The Chinese publics’ response to Johnson seems to be, in part, down tothe fact that his style of politics is so contradictory to that of his Chinesecounterparts. His personal approach (exemplified by a five-stop journeyon the Beijing subway in which he conversed with commuters), unkemptappearance and haphazard mannerisms attracted the curiosity andadmiration of many Chinese observers.

Ben Halder

London’s Chinatown

Regardless of his past comments pertaining to China,the Mayor was very clear that London was open toChinese business. And whether or not Boris’sproclaimed love for all things Chinese is genuine ormerely a political front he went to great lengths tobuild up his profile in the country.

The importance of maintaining a strong, publicrelationship with China was reiterated last year whentrade and investment between China and the UKcooled following David Cameron’s decision to meet theDalai Lama. Only now has the UK taken the steps torebuild bridges with Beijing. By developing a solidrelationship with the Chinese people, Johnson has puthimself in much better favour than the current UKleader.

Whilst he focused on selling London as a primedestination for Chinese spending, Johnson alsostressed the importance of Britain building a greaterunderstanding of China. He suggested that Mandarinbe taught as part of the national curriculum and thatchildren in the UK grow up with an ingrainedawareness of the importance of China in today’s world.In order to fully benefit from the vast sums of foreigninvestment from the world’s second largest economy,the UK, Johnson argued, had to work hard to betterunderstand and appreciate China.

China’s foreign investment coffers are supposedlybursting at the seams and with domestic firms in theUK unable (or otherwise unwilling) to invest in themarket, China holds most of the cards. In order tocapitalise long term on increasing Chinese financialactivity abroad, a China-centric mind-set within theupper-echelons of British politics could prove pivotalto the future of the UK economy.

Even if Johnson doesn’t succeed Cameron as leader ofthe Tory Party it is widely anticipated that he will seekto re-enter the parliamentary fold in the future; and re-election to Parliament would surely bring with it aCabinet seat if the Tories are still in government. Theconnections and profile that Johnson has built duringthis tour would undoubtedly serve the UK on anational level. His high-profile status means that thesepro-China sound bites hit the headlines, but from aministerial office Johnson would be in a position toturn this rhetoric into national policy.

22

either the rise in non-state international actors nor the rise ofcities and urbanisation is new. Putting the two together,however, is just catching on, particularly in UK- Chinarelations. Cities are taking on a new, more prominentinternational role (“city diplomacy” as some call it) that offersUK-China relations opportunities for growth andstrengthened ties. Moreover, it shows an important step asmayors, cities and people more directly and formally shapeinternational relationships to their interests and their image.

From Boris Johnson’s China trip to Manchester’s airportdevelopment plans to lesser known (but nonethelessimportant) partnerships, these city level initiatives are morethan ever leading the way in UK-China relations.

London mayor Boris Johnson’s recent trip to China shows thelevel of opportunity created by city based ties and diplomacy--as well as the evolution of a mayor’s office to internationalstature. Johnson met with his Chinese counterpart, Beijingmayor Wang Anchun, to sign a bilateral science andtechnology agreement and to promote broader relationsbetween the two cities. Both mayors pledged to sharetechnology and strategies for creating sustainable cities; inspecific, London helps Beijing retrofit old buses while Beijinghelps London develop electric buses. Moreover, thememorandum recognizes the large group of Chinese studentsin London and coincided with the launch of a Chineselanguage website (London.cn) to encourage more Chinesestudents and visitors to London.

Johnson didn’t stop there. He worked in conjunction withChancellor George Osborne to broaden London’s role ininternational RMB trading and, more broadly, to promoteLondon to Chinese investors. Johnson pushed his London sellhard, arguing that it could overtake Singapore as an RMB andChinese international finance hub.

Mayor Johnson also fully took on his celebrity status toadvertise London’s image, showing that mayors can beprominent international political figures. He played the partwell as he rode the subways and a bicycle around town,gaining a following of admirers wherever he went. He evenhas a Weibo account, China’s twitter equivalent, that he usedto gain Chinese votes in London, but has also helped connecthim with mainland Chinese.

Through all of these memorandums on science & technology,economic agreements and celebrity politicians, London issuccessfully leveraging itself to its own interests and also tobuilding broader UK-China ties. Manchester, with itsambitious airport city plans, has put considerable Chineseinvestment to use in a joint UK-China initiative that isshowing the further promise of city ties-- and is stealingheadlines from London’s China plans.

This joint initiative at Manchester’s airport is focused oneconomic growth, and looks positioned to be a big success.Beijing Construction Engineering Group plans to invest £800million in Manchester’s “airport city”-- a mix of offices, hotels,warehouses and manufacturing space attached to the airport.

The development aims to add tens of thousands of jobs andraise Manchester’s international profile, but it will alsoindirectly strengthen broader UK-Chinese relations and (if

N

C I T YDIPLOMACY

Growing tiesbetween cities inChina and the UK

represent ahuge opportunity


successful) lead the way for more investment of its kind. As George Osborne said, "I think it shows that oureconomic plan of doing more business with China and also making sure more economic activity in Britainhappens outside the City of London is working. That's good for Britain and good for British people."

Cities taking on international partnerships and cooperation isn’t new-- “sister cities” were among the firstcity level attempts to do so-- but these relationships are finally leaving the realm of cultural exchanges andcommemorative statues. Xiamen and Cardiff were the first of Chinese-UK sister cities, establishing theirrelationship in 1983. Forty four such relations have sprouted since.

In a recent report to Greater Manchester, Lord Wei wrote about the need and value to grow beyond these“friendship cities”. While they may bring positive cultural exchanges (which, of course, are also valuable),their true potential begins once real economic exchanges and growth begin. This report presented an allaround approach as well as specific opportunities and challenges for Manchester to link with China, and inparticular China’s Yangtze and Pearl River Delta regions. The report shows in and of itself shows thebroader context of Manchester’s airport initiative and the many positives accompanying it.

City level ties are not limited to large cities either. In 2013, Qingdao (a large city but not among China’slargest) sent over a representative for 2 months to Southampton. The representative worked to buildeconomic relations and increase investment between the two cities. More and more small scale exchangessuch as this are happening and are equally as important as big headline investments.

Southampton city council leader Simon Letts reflected both the optimism to new partnerships and theinterest in moving beyond a limited sister-city relationship (which they already have). “If someone comesto me and can demonstrate that we can generate jobs and inward investment through a link we will look atit.”

Why do these small and large scale ties matter? Beyond all of the key words--economic growth,investment, sustainability, cultural exchanges--these burgeoning city level relations show localcommunities more independently organizing and creating ties how they want them. Better yet, citybusinesses and residents have their interests met while also strengthening China-UK relations at thenational level.

Urbanisation is a hot topic word of the 21st century, particularly when talking about growth. It shouldfollow that international cooperation and relations at the city-level should also be higher on the agenda--particularly when talking about growth. As UK and Chines cities continue to claim power and transcenddomestic borders, they will continue to find rewards.

Manchester Airport - recipient of £800 million of Chinese investment

Joe Schubert

24

In his speech at the Conservative Party conference in September, Chancellor George Osborne spoke of his confidence in the Britisheconomy, citing a doubling in exports to China- As well as luring in investment, the UK also aims to revive the ‘Made in Britain’brand and export more, and where better than the world’s fastest growing market, China? Last year, for the first time, the majority ofBritish exports went not to EU countries but to BRIC countries. So what do the Chinese want from the UK and why, wheneverything nowadays appears to be ‘Made in China’?

Luxury stores: A decade ago, the US was the largest overseas market for Harrods, theultimate British luxury department store – now it’s China. France is following, and openedGaleries Lafayette in Beijing last month, 15 years after closing its original Beijing store.Even Chinese brands opening stores in the UK, like Bosideng, which opened in 2012, keepits luxury image by sourcing and manufacturing within Europe instead of China.

Universities: Although Chinese students aiming to study outside of Asia are most likely tochoose the US, the UK has always been renowned for its education system, and the UK hasled the way in the creation of non-Asian university campuses in China. University ofNottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) was the first, founded in 2004, and New YorkUniversity Shanghai became the first from the US this year. The Harry Potter craze in Chinahas also increased the popularity of British boarding schools – the Chinese are the largestethnic group of foreign students boarding in the UK.

What unifies these ‘Made in Britain’ brands is luxury. For the Chinese, luxury means reliability and status. Chinese goods, thoughcheap, often have dubious provenance, and in the case of necessities like milk powder, the reliance on foreign goods, more expensivethan those in China, can be shockingly evident in the empty shelves and signs limiting the amount the customer can buy – in UKstores. As for luxury brands, the Economist has predicted that 13 million households in China will have an annual income of $150,000by 2030. Though that’s less than 1% of the Chinese population, it equates to of the UK’s population. As a booming economy and acountry where public display is part of a tradition that loves celebration and large, overblown affairs, wealthy Chinese have noqualms about showing off. Indeed, in China, where British retail brands have failed to penetrate, foreign retail companies such asCarrefour and H&M have succeeded out of their bravery in charging high prices in a country with such low income, turning theirhigh-street image at home into an upmarket image for China. Meanwhile, M&S is thought to be jinxed and Tesco’s branches face amerger with a Chinese company. There’s always room for improvement.

Cars: The popularity of ‘Made in Britain’ cars such as Rolls Royce, Jaguar, and theMini, even though they are no longer owned by British companies, can still createmanufacturing jobs in the UK. Now, one in four Rolls Royce cars is bought by theChinese. In September, the total number of vehicles sold by Jaguar so far this yearreached 312,834, already 16% more than last year. Where is its biggest market? China.

The UK looks set to overtake France as the 2nd largest car manufacturer in the world.As Europe’s major car manufacturing countries see their sales fall in the currentrecession – even Germany, the world’s largest manufacturer – the UK has seen its carsales rise by 10.4% so far this year.

MADE IN BRITAIN

S O L D I N C H I N A


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Documents

Scope, November 2013 (British Sinophile)