"Secondly, the Chinese children made a great contribution to our local schools, because they demonstrated to some of our children that hard work does pay results."

As Huawei expanded rapidly in the UK, it had to look for larger office space. After realizing the difficulty of finding this in Basingstoke, Huawei announced that it would move its headquarters to Reading, later this year.

Finney said the news is unfortunate, but emphasizes that as the council is constructing a new business complex, called Basing View Business Park, he hopes there will be future opportunities to attract Chinese investment.

"Huawei needed a building now, so Basing View's development was not quick enough to meet their needs, but the experience we have gained working with Huawei is invaluable and will come into use when we work with other Chinese investors in the future," Finney said.