Working with China

Following the UK’s exit from the EU, relationships with key international partners are even more important. There is strong political support in both the UK and China to build greater trade and investment links between the two nations.

In 2019, the UK and China reiterated their commitment to the ‘Golden Era’ in UK-China relations, agreeing to work closely together on strengthening their respective economies, to achieve the shared ambition of strong, sustainable and inclusive global growth, and to bolster openness and free trade.

With strong support from our Leaders, Leeds City Region is committed to developing stronger links with China and driving forward international trade and investment initiatives which are essential to the prosperity of the North.

The tenth Economic and Financial Dialogue between the UK and China took place in London in June 2019. Since the first Dialogue in 2008, trade in goods and services between the UK and China has more than doubled, with investment having almost trebled. In the last six years alone, there have been over 700 new investments in the UK, creating nearly 16,000 new jobs and safeguarding around 13,000 more.

China presents an opportunity for Leeds City Region because of:

• The scale of the opportunity
• The extensive partnerships between China and Leeds City Region, including university partnerships and sister city relationships
• The natural fit between Leeds City Region sector strengths and China’s key focus areas for economic development
• The extensive network of alumni who are connected with Leeds City Region