On 5 November 2025, Chinese Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang attended and addressed the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) Autumn Reception upon invitation. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Seema Malhotra, Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby KC MP, CBBC Chair Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, incoming Chair Sir Sebastian Wood, and Chief Executive Peter Burnett also delivered remarks. More than 200 representatives from the UK government, parliament, business community, think tanks, and Chinese enterprises in the UK attended the event.
In his address, Ambassador Zheng highly commended the work carried out by Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles during his six years as CBBC Chair, noting that CBBC has become a reliable, active, and influential platform for promoting China-UK practical cooperation and furthering bilateral relations. He expressed the hope that under the leadership of the new Chair, Sir Sebastian Wood, CBBC will continue to play an important role in advancing China-UK economic and trade cooperation and fostering the sound and steady development of bilateral ties.
Ambassador Zheng elaborated on the key outcomes of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). He noted that this year marks the conclusion of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan period, during which the country’s economic strength, scientific and technological capabilities, and composite national strength reached new heights, with an estimated GDP increase of about £4 trillion. The Plenary Session adopted the Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, providing top-level design and strategic planning for China’s development in the next five years. China will continue to pursue economic development as its central task, focus on high-quality development, and make new and important contributions to global economic growth. China will stay committed to high-standard opening up, steadily expand institutional opening up, and advance comprehensive pilot programs for opening up the services sector. Over the next decade, China’s middle-income population is projected to grow to 800 million, further unleashing market potential. The steady progress of Chinese modernisation will create more opportunities for countries around the world, including the UK. The Chinese government supports closer, mutually beneficial cooperation between Chinese and British businesses. It is hoped that both sides will work in the same direction to open a new chapter in China-UK economic and trade cooperation.
Ambassador Zheng noted that since last year, under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, China-UK relations have made positive progress. He called on both sides to follow the trend of the times, keep in mind the fundamental interests of the two peoples, and earnestly implement the important common understandings reached between the two leaders. The two sides need to uphold the principle of mutual respect, adopt a correct perception, remove disruptions and obstacles, and handle differences and sensitive issues properly. It is also important that the two sides expand mutually beneficial cooperation in areas including trade, investment, financial services, clean energy, public health, and climate action, maintain and enhance people-to-people exchanges, and strengthen communication and coordination on major international and regional issues, so as to bring greater benefits to both peoples.