Consumers sample ham at an exhibition booth at the third China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai over the weekend. This year, a lot of countries including the UK and France set up food areas at the CIIE. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

British firms have signed more than £430million ($567 million) worth of deals with Chinese companies during the 3rd China International Import Expo (CIIE), the UK Embassy in China announced on Monday, the fifth day of the six-day CIIE. 

Thousands of new connections between UK and Chinese companies, with 120,000 unique visitors to new UK-China business matching platforms, were built, according to the press release sent to the Global Times on Monday.

"This year, we are having a particular focus on British food and drink. This is a massively growing sector for the UK's exports to China. The exports have gone up nearly 170 percent in this sector in the last five years; 26 percent just last year 2019 to a value of £780 million and we see continued prospect of growth in the sector," Chris Wood, Consul General of Britain in Shanghai, told the Global Times in an interview.

"But we are not just looking at food and drink. Through our various platforms at the CIIE, we will give an opportunity for connecting with British companies across a whole range of sectors, such as technology, advanced manufacturing, education and so on. All of them are important to the British economy and to our hugely important trade and relationship with China," the Consul General added.  

The deals include collaboration between Lakeland Dairies and Namchow Food Group (Shanghai) Co. Ltd to bring high quality dairy products from Northern Ireland to China; and a partnership between Savills and Greenland Group Xi'an Fenghe Real Estate Co. Ltd in Shaanxi Province on the Silk Road International Center Project luxury commercial and office complex. An additional partnership between Savills and the Shanghai Yangpu Government on innovation and transformation of Yangpu district; and another between Millennium Group and Suning International Sups, bringing a range of British food and drinks brands to the Chinese market, were also formed.

John Edwards, HM Trade Commissioner, was quoted in the news release as saying, "CIIE 2020 was a success for UK firms with a wide range of business deals signed across sectors. In addition, despite the impact of COVID-19, our 360 digital offer has meant that we have still been able to build impactful connections between UK and Chinese companies. The UK has high ambitions for our trade and investment partnership with China. We want to work with China to increase trade and investment flows, improve market access, and set a mutual ambition for the future relationship."

Trade between the UK and China reached £104.5 billion last year, surpassing the £100 billion mark for the first time.