Chinese Chamber of Commerce launches with London ceremony

Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming gives a speech on the strategic directions of China's 13th five year plan as the the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK was officially launched at a grand ceremony on Dec 15, 2015 in London. [Photo by Jiang Shan/China Daily]

Si Bingjun, chairman of CCCUK, said that the organization's launch under its new name is a milestone, as the organization has grown significantly since its founding in 2001. The organization currently has around 170 member businesses, of which two thirds are Chinese businesses in the UK, and the rest are British companies that do business with China.

The name change took place just before Xi's UK state visit, and it came about as the organization strives to provide more professional services for its member businesses, as a consequence of the growing numbers and importance of Chinese business in the UK.

Whereas the "association" name implies a loose structure for the organization, the "chamber" name implies a more professional structure focusing mainly on business, members feel.

Jin Xu, minister counselor of the economic and commercial office of China's embassy in Britain, said that the name change is very significant as it reflects Chinese business's increasing importance in the UK.

Jin said CCCUK plays an important role in bringing together Chinese and UK businesses that want to effectively develop trade and investment relationships, and the services it provides member companies with are invaluable to them.

"It creates a good platform for Chinese companies that have an established presence in the UK to share their experiences with others that have newly set-up subsidiaries, and this greatly helps the process of Chinese firms' internationalization," Jin said.

CCCUK provides a wide variety of services, ranging from helping businesses to solve practical problems they encounter, to providing assistance to companies' expatriate employees on day-to-day needs such as healthcare and education.