Charles Prince of Wales, and Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom Liu Xiaoming in 2011/XINHUA
Addressing a meeting sponsored by the 48 Group Club, an independent business network in Britain, Liu briefed the participants on the recent 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which he attended as a non-voting delegate.
“In past decades the British media paid very little attention to the congressional meetings of the CPC, but they have closely followed the 18th CPC national congress. This reflects the growing understanding that China has a crucial role in the future of the whole world,” Liu said.
The ambassador believed that the 18th CPC national congress has brought new opportunities for China-Britain relations, as it reaffirmed that China will develop friendly cooperation with all countries based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and that it will work to promote the establishment of stable and healthy relations between leading members of the international community.
Many of China’s development priorities coincide with what Britain is good at, such as extensive mode of economic growth, scientific innovation, culture industry, environmental protection, education and medical care, said the ambassador.
China also stands ready to work with Britain in fulfilling the responsibilities of leading countries through closer communication and coordination in addressing issues such as food security, energy security and cyber security, he added.
About 200 British business people and politicians attended the meeting and some of them asked the ambassador about China’s efforts in balancing economic growth with the environment, the development of culture industry and China-Britain cooperation in the fields of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The founding members of the 48 Group Club, also known as “the icebreakers” of Britain-China trade, were the first Western businessmen to break through the trade embargo on the newly-founded People’s Republic of China in the early 1950s. The club now has grown to over 600 members.
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