Economic summits used to be the preserve of the big Western economies and Japan. Not any more. Today’s UK-China economic summit is important not just to build on the good relations between our two countries, but also because of China’s vital role on the world stage.
China is the world’s third largest economy. Some estimate it could be the biggest before 2050. So it is right that it should have a keen interest in resolving today’s economic problems, as we build towards global recovery. Today the second UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue will take place, the first in London. Our talks will strengthen the cultural and commercial partnership between our economies: a partnership everyone can see — on the shelves of our shops, the screens of our cinemas or in the lecture halls and laboratories of our universities.
We already have strong economic links. But we must do more to seize the shared opportunities to learn, trade and invest. Thousands of jobs, now and in the future, depend on it.
Every country has benefited from China’s integration into the world economy in the past decade. Since 2000, China has accounted for a third of global economic growth. Chinese goods are now exported all over the globe — making it the world’s second largest exporter. And this is not a zero-sum game. We all benefit; 60 per cent of Chinese exports are produced by enterprises financed by other countries.
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