A senior trade and investment delegation from Leeds City Region is visiting China to accelerate investment relationships with the country which is the second largest economy in the world.
Cllr Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, and Cllr Shabir Pandor, leader of Kirklees Council, will visit the Chinese cities of Qingdao, Hangzhou and Hong Kong to strengthen government-to-government relationships as well as capitalising on existing trade agreements.
Representatives from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Bradford Council, the University of Bradford, the University of Leeds, the University of Huddersfield and businesses including TPP, Munroe K and Group Rhodes are also part of the delegation.
Cllr Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “This trade and investment mission will build on our long and prestigious relationships with our Chinese partners.
“Earlier this week we saw a hugely positive outcome of this activity with the announcement that Hangzhou-based Dahua, makers of video surveillance equipment, are opening an office in Leeds.
“They join Hisense which has its UK HQ in Leeds and Silver Cross owner Fosun. We want to encourage more investment and trade between our cities.”
During the visit, the delegation will tour the headquarters of NetEase Kaola.com, the Chinese e-commerce retailer. The meeting builds on the March 2017 Memorandum of Understanding, and is part of the Leeds City Region’s strategy of exploring new avenues to order to take the region’s products to the Far East market in response to demand for high quality British products.
Nicola Greenan, external relations director at East Street Arts - part of the delegation - concluded: “It’s great to be involved with the visit to China and Hong Kong and I’m really excited to talk to businesses, education institutions and other organisations about our work and specifically, our plans to introduce a dedicated Arts and Tech Hub to the region based in Mabgate, Leeds.
“It will also be interesting to see what’s happening in China, from a creative and business perspective. I hope the visit will spark some exciting collaborations in the near future.”