Focus

Putting great store in ties

By Xin Zhiming and Qin Jize in Beijing and Zhang Haizhou and Zhang Chunyan in London (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-10 07:51

A perfect fit

Also on Tuesday, Vice-premier Wang Qishan and Osborne jointly chaired the third China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue and announced a slew of cooperative programs for the coming years, including in the areas of trade, finance, high-technology, infrastructure, low-carbon economy and cutting emissions.

China is the world's largest exporter of goods while Britain is the second largest exporter of services, which means the two have promising cooperative opportunities in a wide range of fields, Osborne told the media after the meeting. "Our economies are complementary," he said.

The dialogue also achieved 41 policy outcomes, with both sides agreeing, among others, to promote bilateral trade and investment. The UK said it would welcome more Chinese investment, including from sovereign wealth funds.

That could be a positive signal for China's $200-billion sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC), said analysts.

The CIC has been shown the cold shoulder in some countries because it is feared that the financial giant could disrupt markets and grab key resources, despite its reiteration that it is aimed at long-term investment that would stabilize financial markets.

Britain also affirmed that it would support China's full market economy status "as early as possible" and will continue to "play a constructive role to encourage EU recognition", according to a statement released following the dialogue.

Analysts claim that developed economies, such as the United States, have taken advantage of China's lack of such a status to impose trade measures more easily on Chinese exports.

China and Britain will also strengthen cooperation in taxation policies, statistics, energy, finance and civil aviation, reads the statement.