Chinese Minister visits England’s Northwest

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and regional partners this week hosted a visit from Jiang Fan, Minister Counsellor, Economic and Commercial Office, Embassy of People’s Republic of China, to promote stronger investment links with China.

The Minister visited a number of key companies and projects in the region to raise awareness of inward investment and trade opportunities in the Northwest and explore the potential for exploiting closer links with China. The tour included mediacity:uk, where the Agency and Peel Holdings highlighted the progress that has been made on the development to create a world class media city at Salford Quays.

Wigan Council then presented on plans for a £125 million textile manufacturing hub in Wigan which will create the largest clothing and textile industry centre in Europe. The project, which will be home to a large number of Chinese companies trading with the UK and Europe, is expected to create at least 1,000 jobs and a further 3,000 in spin off industries.

Mark Hughes, Executive Director of Enterprise and Skills at the NWDA, said:

“China is a key market for the Northwest. The region secured 17 investments from Chinese companies during 2006/07 and exported over £360 million worth of goods to China in 2006, and the NWDA is working with our partners to capitalise on this and create new trade and investment opportunities with this important market.

This visit provided a valuable opportunity to showcase the Northwest as a world-class business location, and to identify opportunities to strengthen the Chinese presence within the region.”

As part of the tour, the Minister also visited one of the region’s key strategic investors, Astra Zeneca, as well as meeting with UKTI Northwest and the China Britain Business Council to discuss trade links with China. MIDAS, Manchester’s inward investment agency, also presented on the strengths of the Manchester city region and the dedicated support available to Chinese companies.

The tour also included a visit to the European Capital of Culture, Liverpool, organised by Chinalink, which involved a roundtable discussion with representatives from Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, Liverpool City Council, Wirral Borough Council, The Mersey Partnership, Liverpool Vision, the Port of Liverpool, Peel Development and Susino (UK) Ltd, discussing various on-going and future projects to promote two way trade and investment with China.

Minister Jiang Fan, said:

“I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit the Northwest to explore ways of developing stronger ties between the region and China. Building closer trade and investment links with the region is something I am keen to develop further and this visit provided a lot of constructive debate on how we can work together to take this forward.”

The Northwest has strong cultural links with China, with Manchester home to one of the largest Chinese populations outside London and Liverpool home to the oldest Chinese community in Europe. It is a key overseas market for the region and the NWDA is working with partners to strengthen its links with the country.

As well employing a dedicated China Country Manager to promote the region to the Chinese market, the NWDA supports Sinoventures, a project based at Manchester Science Park which aims to attract small and high tech start up companies from China by providing a tailored package of business development and relocation assistance and high quality serviced office accommodation. It is one of only two business incubators in the UK recognised by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

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For further information please contact Sarah Moston, Press Officer on 01925 400552 or 07810 528571 or sarah.moston@nwda.co.uk

For urgent out of hours press enquiries please call 01925 400259.

For further information and to view previous press releases visit us at www.nwda.co.uk

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the economic development and regeneration of England's Northwest and is responsible for:

• Supporting business growth and encouraging investment
• Matching skills provision to employer needs
• Creating the conditions for economic growth
• Connecting the region through effective transport and communication infrastructure
• Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life

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