Spearhead Chairman: Joining the BRI is win-win for China and UK

World
Europe

06:14

Following Italy signing on to the Belt and Road Initiative, Switzerland has also been applauded for joining the BRI, and now British Finance Minister Philip Hammond is attending the ongoing Belt and Road Forum to seek opportunities for the UK.

"It's a reconfirmation of the interest of the UK in China," said William Spier, chairman of Spearhead China and also an executive committee member of the British Chamber of Commerce in China.

The UK has demonstrated its interest in participating in the BRI projects by being one of the first countries to put money into the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Spier said.

He added that during David Cameron's governance, Standard Chartered bank already invested 70 billion euros into the BRI project.

Spier noted that there are skills Britain has that China can benefit from. "London wants to involve into this (BRI)…The UK is inventive in the way of doing business, it's win-win for both sides," he said.

The Sino-British trade broke through the 80 billion marks in 2018. China's direct investment in the UK increased by 14 percent year-on-year, and the number of personnel exchanges between the two countries has reached 1.5 million per year.

Spier said that there are three main areas for both sides to invest, education, health care and finance. He added that more clarification is needed for countries to know better of BRI. "Different country has different culture, we have different ways doing things, and we have to respect that…globalization is important to make the world better," he said.

Spier also pointed out that to look after the interest of everyone, more openness and transparency is necessary. "People need to see how they are progressing," he said.