Ambassador Zheng Zeguang attended the 2nd China UK Forum and delivered a keynote speech (full text)

On November 22, 2023, the second China UK Forum, hosted by the Official Forum of British Monetary and Financial Institutions, was held in London, UK. Chinese Ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, was invited to attend the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered a keynote speech titled “Building a Better Bridge to Promote Mutually Beneficial Cooperation”.
The entire speech is as follows:
Building better bridges to promote mutually beneficial cooperation
Dear guests,
Ladies and gentlemen, friends:
I am delighted to attend today’s forum and thank Chairman Marsh for his invitation. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, I would like to congratulate the forum and express my gratitude to friends from all walks of life who have long supported the development of China UK relations.
The topic of this forum is “Building a Bridge”, which is very relevant. The current international situation is turbulent and intertwined, with an increase in unstable and uncertain factors. China, the UK, and countries around the world need to build cooperation bridges, broaden the path of win-win cooperation, work together to address challenges, and promote peace and development.
Since ancient times, Chinese people have had a global sentiment of “being alone when poor, and helping the world when great”. China has always adhered to starting from doing its own thing well, promoting exchanges and cooperation among countries through paving the way and building bridges, and promoting world peace and development.
Since this year, in the face of the complex and severe external environment, we have firmly promoted Chinese path to modernization, solidly promoted high-quality development, and the economy has continued to recover. In the first three quarters of this year, China’s gross domestic product increased by 5.2% year-on-year. In the first 10 months of this year, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 6.9% year-on-year, and the industrial added value increased by 4.1% year-on-year. The value of China’s economic growth is higher and the green color is stronger. New energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products have become the “new three samples” of China’s exports, with a total export growth of 41.7% year-on-year in the first three quarters. The International Monetary Fund has raised China’s economic forecast for 2023 to 5.4%. China’s contribution to global economic growth this year is expected to reach one-third.

China is steadfast in promoting high-level opening-up to the outside world. We have announced the complete elimination of restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector. Recently, we successfully held the sixth China International Import Expo, with more than 3400 enterprises from all countries participating. Tomorrow, we will also hold the second Global Digital Trade Expo. We are implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with high quality, actively aligning with the economic and trade rules of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, and expanding the network of high standard free trade zones for the world.
We successfully held the third “the Belt and Road” International Cooperation Summit Forum. More than 10000 representatives from 151 countries and 41 international organizations gathered in Beijing, formed 458 achievements and reached a business cooperation agreement of US $97.2 billion.
Since the beginning of this year, some Western media have described China’s development prospects as very bleak, and some even falsely claim that China’s development trend has reversed. Actions speak louder than words. The Chinese economy not only maintains a leading position among major global economies this year, but also has more obvious advantages in medium and long-term development. China has the institutional advantages of a socialist market economy, the demand advantages of a super large scale market, the supply advantages of a complete industrial system, and the talent advantages of a large number of high-quality workers and entrepreneurs. Its economic development has strong endogenous driving force, resilience, and potential, and its long-term positive fundamentals remain unchanged.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Development requires a peaceful and stable external environment. China has always stood on the side of peace and justice, committed to developing friendly and cooperative relations with countries around the world, and playing a constructive role in promoting the resolution of international and regional hotspot issues. Whether it is the prolonged situation in Ukraine or the recent resurgence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, China has always been committed to promoting peace talks and promoting a political solution.
This is an important meeting to increase trust, clarify doubts, manage differences, and expand cooperation, pointing out the direction for the development of China US relations and injecting stability into a turbulent and changing world. We look forward to the United States taking practical actions to work with China to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and promote the return of China US relations to the track of healthy and stable development.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Europe. Since last year, leaders of China and Europe have maintained close exchanges through mutual visits, video meetings, and other means, and practical cooperation in various fields has achieved new development. The stable development of China Europe relations has brought enormous benefits to both sides and also provided positive energy for world peace and development.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The relationship between China and the UK is very important. Cooperation will only bring benefits to both countries and the world. In developing relations with China, the UK has long been at the forefront of Western countries and serves as an important bridge of communication between China and the West. Unfortunately, the role of bridges in the UK has decreased in recent years. I have talked to many British friends about this, and they are all deeply contemplating how to reverse this trend. I think the following things need to be done well:
One is to establish a correct understanding. It must be acknowledged that China is not a challenge, let alone a threat, from the UK. The history of more than 50 years of establishing ambassadorial level diplomatic relations between China and the UK indicates that China’s development will only bring opportunities to the UK. The current challenges facing the UK, whether it is low productivity, low growth, high inflation, or high cost of living, are not caused by China. Militarily, China does not pose a threat to Britain. China has always regarded the UK as a partner. To view China as a challenge or even a threat is definitely to find the wrong target and make a fundamental mistake. As for those who clamor to “decouple” and “take risks” from China, they are misleading the British people and helping Britain. Losing the Chinese market means losing development opportunities.
The second is to adhere to mutual respect. It is normal for China and the UK to have differences and differences in history, culture, and social systems on some issues. To ensure the smooth development of China UK relations, we must respect each other’s social systems and development paths, as well as respect each other’s sovereignty, security, and development interests. China does not seek to change the social system of the UK, and the UK should not have any unrealistic ideas about changing China’s social system. The affairs of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Xizang belong to China’s internal affairs. We firmly oppose any country’s interference in China’s internal affairs. On the basis of respecting each other’s core interests and major concerns, both sides can fully narrow differences, expand consensus, and enhance mutual trust through equal dialogue.

The third is to adhere to win-win cooperation. Dialogue and cooperation should be the main tone of China UK relations. China and the UK have strong economic complementarity and great potential for cooperation. The trade volume of goods between China and the UK has exceeded 100 billion US dollars for two consecutive years, and the stock of two-way direct investment has exceeded 50 billion US dollars. The UK participated as the guest of honor in this year’s Beijing Service Trade Fair, and 55 British companies participated in the 6th China International Import and Export Fair. The two countries can fully strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in a wide range of fields such as finance, trade, investment, new energy, biomedicine, and digital economy. Especially, China has strong manufacturing and innovation capabilities in the field of new energy, and cooperation with China will help the UK achieve its “net zero emissions” target by 2050. Both companies can also explore more tripartite cooperation. It must be pointed out that any abuse of national security legislation and deliberate suppression of Chinese enterprises will only affect the confidence of Chinese enterprises in investing in the UK. Both China and the UK should work together to create a fair, just, and non discriminatory business environment for mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.
The fourth is to persist in jointly facing challenges. Both China and the UK are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and major countries with significant international influence, as well as members of the G20. Both sides should strengthen communication and coordination in addressing climate change, promoting global governance through artificial intelligence, and promoting the resolution of international and regional hotspot issues.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The world has entered a new period of turbulence and change, with unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Britain is about to hold a general election. I hope that insightful individuals from all walks of life in China and the UK, especially those in the business community, will maintain firm confidence, uphold a pragmatic spirit, build better bridges, promote mutually beneficial cooperation, and lay a more solid foundation for deepening mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, and promoting stable and far-reaching relations between China and the UK.
Finally, I wish the forum a complete success!
Thank you!