Business First December 2017 December BF Digital | Page 74

The Final Word
UK - China
Regional Leaders
Summit: a huge
opportunity for
Northern Ireland
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by Chris Brown, Director, Brown O’Connor Communications
his December Northern Ireland will
host the 2017 UK­China Regional
Leaders Summit which is a bit of a coup
in securing and worth more to us than we
probably realise.
This prestigious event will see over 30
Chinese provincial and municipal leaders
coming to Northern Ireland and meeting and
engaging with academia and businesses to
build connections and enable them to identify
strategic areas for economic outcomes.
Which government representatives from
our side will meet with these leaders is
anyone’s guess, but we need to put our best
foot forward.
Invest NI and a range of government
departments alongside our universities,
businesses and councils are in the driving
seat in terms of planning and delivery of this
summit. Effort is being made to make this the
event it needs to be.
Late last year I had the opportunity to visit
Beijing and the Chinese provinces of Liaoning
and Hubei with several elected
representatives and some of our local
business leaders.
What struck me was the sheer size of the
regions in terms of land mass, population and
the opportunity that these regional
marketplaces have to offer us here.
We have skills, expertise and produce that
they need to develop their industries and feed
the many millions of people that exist across
the vast country.
But the relationship must be reciprocated
and they won’t give us market access unless a
relationship is built and trust exists.
From first­hand experience meeting some
of these regional leaders and senior
government individuals they are looking to us
in the UK and Ireland to give them solutions
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and products across relevant sectors
including FinTech, cyber security, life and
health sciences, creative industries and agri­
food. We can provide and more.
Clean, green and lean
China is one hell of place. Massive,
populated, industrial, hi­tech. It really is
worth a visit.
When you are in the cities, air pollution is
obvious and many walk about with air
filtration masks on. The lack of rolling green
fields is obvious once you get out of the urban
areas.
It really struck me that our quality produce
and agri­food products have a significant
opportunity – even more so than it is
supplying now.
The Chinese need produce that has
provenance, traceability and is reared in a
clean and green environment which is not
always available in China as the land and
climate is not always available, especially
when there are literally millions of people to
feed. Quality and volume is the key. We need
the export first mentality to make it work.
NI Bureau in Beijing
The hard work that the Northern Ireland
Executive Bureau in China is facilitating is
developing friendships by identifying projects
that will be of mutual and practical benefit.
That is why we need summits such as the
one in December so that we create the
circumstances and conditions for those
relationships to form and develop.
Given the period of time that the Northern
Ireland Executive office has been operational
in China, securing this summit is a significant
achievement and demonstrates support for
the Executive’s strategy for working with the
regions. These Chinese regional leaders won’t
muck about. They have money to invest, a
ready market and want to do business. This
summit needs to be success and we must get
behind it.
The Chinese have been gradually investing
their time and energy into Northern Ireland.
In summer 2015 they set up, for the first time,
a Chinese Consulate.
In 2011 the Confucius Institute was
headquartered at Ulster University aimed to
foster closer ties between China and
Northern Ireland. The institute is a network
of 500 institutes in over 140 countries which
promotes and teaches Chinese language and
culture and facilitates cultural exchanges
aimed at fostering trade links with China.
Recently the Northern Ireland branch won
the ‘Confucius Institute of the Year’ which is a
huge accolade.
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Connectivity growing
The main regions in China that we are
reaching out to are getting closer with a
recent announcement from carrier Cathay
Pacific that they will operate a year­round
service from Dublin to Hong Kong four times
per week.
Plans for new direct flights to mainland
China are also nearing take­off with Chinese
carrier Hainan Airlines preparing to launch a
Dublin­Beijing direct flight.
These much­needed routes will be a
fantastic addition if we are serious about
getting into the Chinese market place and
developing that required friendship before
shaking on any business deal. We look
forward to a successful UK China Regional
Leaders summit in December.
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