President's visit shines spotlight on Manchester's strengths

As President Xi Jinping prepares to take the short flight to Manchester on Thursday, there is growing anticipation in the city as to what his visit heralds.

Although a cradle of the Industrial Revolution, the northern hub, which vies with Birmingham to be the UK's second city, is best known now for its football clubs—and one of them, Manchester City, will host Xi.

The cotton mills are now part ofManchester's past, and although the city was for a long time the biggest financial center after London, it has been transformed over the past decade.

Perhaps ofmost interest will be what the Chinese president has to say about Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's pet Northern Powerhouse project.

The government is looking for Chinese investment in infrastructure thatwill transform transportation links between Manchester and other northern cities.

Wayne Jones, president of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and managing director of enginemaker MAN Diesel UK in Stockport, Greater Manchester, said Chinese help in this area could be vital.

"If you look at other countries, commuting 35 miles to work is not insurmountable but here it is.China has a great track record in transport infrastructure, not only in China but also in places like Africa," he said.

The biggest Chinese involvement in the city is the 800 million pound ($1.23 billion) joint venture between Stateowned Beijing Construction Engineering Group and UK construction company Carillion to build Airport City, a new commercial and logistics area next to the city's airport.

The project will be completed over the next 10 to 15 years and create 16,000 jobs.

Charlie Cornish, chief executive officer of Manchester Airport, said BCEG's international capabilities made it stand out in the bidding process.

"If you are a global company, you are likely to be more innovative inyour approach to construction," he said.

Like in London, Chinese investors arehaving animpact on the city's property sector.

Ginko Tree Investment, a Chinese fund, acquired a 49 percent stake for 142 million pounds in One Angel Square, the new home of the Cooperative Group, in 2013.

The 5,000 Chinese students — one of the biggest concentrations in the country — at Greater Manchester's four universities are also having an impact on the residential market. About 60 percent of the luxury self-contained apartments at the 25 million pound development Vita Student at First Street were snapped up by eager Chinese parents, according to insiders.

The biggest Chinese inward investment deal so far has been the Chongqing Machinery and ElectricCobuyingPrecision Technologies Group in Milnrow, near Rochdale, for 20 million pounds.

Tony Bannan, chief executive of PTG, said the Chinese have boosted research and development efforts in advancedmachine tools.

"The thing we admire and respect most about the Chinese parent is that they often take a long term view of the business. For a technology company, this is ideal," he said.

Peter Lusty, chief executive of Manchester Tech Trust, a notforprofit organization aimed at linking technology companies with investors, hopes that Xi's visit will excite Chinese interest in the city.

Contact the writers through andrewmoody@chinadaily.com.cn