The 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services Photo: VCG

The UK is planning to send its largest business group in four years to attend the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) as the Guest Country of Honor, the UK Embassy in China told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The business group will be led by a Minister of State from UK's Department for Business and Trade. Over 60 enterprises from the UK are estimated to have business talks with Chinese partners during the trade fair, providing a platform for dialogue, while seeking new cooperation opportunities, the embassy said.

The CIFTIS creates unique opportunities for enhancing long-term cooperation between China and the UK. "With China's continuous development, we see great cooperation potential in China-UK business cooperation, such as in pensions, insurance services, and the well-being sectors of medical health and environment protection," said Tom Duke, UK's Trade Commissioner to China.

The UK will present its brands covering sectors including innovation, sports, education, technology, energy, medical health and financial services during the fair, according to a report by local media outlet Beijing Business Today.

Data from UK's Revenue and Customs showed that the UK exported about 670 million pounds ($845.89 million) of service products to China in 2022, increasing by 7.2 percent year-on-year, while the UK imported about 800 million pounds of Chinese service products in last year, surging by 34.6 percent year-on-year, according to the report.

The annual CIFTIS will run from September 2 to 6 in Beijing, where about 60 companies and organizations will show their latest technological achievements, and more than 2,200 enterprises have confirmed their attendance at the on-site exhibition, activating the global trade of services.

Global Times