It is a little more than a week since I collected my lanyard and security pass and joined the talented team of the China-Britain Business Council as the new CEO. I am acutely conscious of the 70-year history and rich legacy that have been passed my way. CBBC has a reputation for membership focus, thought leadership and professional execution. In that context, I want to recognise Andrew Seaton’s enormous contribution as my predecessor. He steered the organisation through COVID-19, a reshaping of the business model and against a backdrop of hardening geopolitics. CBBC is today more than fit for purpose. He is a hard act to follow!
My job is to build on these foundations and to ensure that CBBC remains the most authoritative private-sector voice on the trade and investment flows between the United Kingdom and China and continues to place our members’ business interests at the heart of everything we do.
I went to Hong Kong on a three-month employment secondment in 1995. In fact, I stayed there until just last week. My personal and professional life has been completely shaped by the economic growth and business opportunities of China, including, of course, by the special role of the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong.
When I landed at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport all those years ago, China’s GDP was around USD 730 billion. By contrast, the United Kingdom’s was double that. I don’t need to repeat here the equivalent numbers today. China’s economic journey from 1995 to 2024 has been nothing short of extraordinary, and I’m not sure that there has been anything quite like it in history.
The growth today may not be quite as stratospheric, but the scale and diversity of the business opportunity remain huge. Today, I observe a market with a middle class of, by some estimates, 800 million people and an opportunity for investment and exports for all our members whose products and capabilities are much sought after in China. The capital generation of the domestic economy also means that the United Kingdom should be a very natural beneficiary of Chinese investment. The high-quality and efficiently manufactured products of China should also find a natural export home in the United Kingdom.
Of course, the political backdrop to these opportunities has become more complex. In my view, this makes the role of CBBC even more important today than it has ever been. Our work, however, will always be guided by our members. Every decision will be determined by one simple question: “How does this best serve our members’ interests?”.
In that respect I want an open and regular communication with all of you – through events, meetings, calls and dialogue – and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible in the coming months.
One of my first tasks is to make a submission to the new UK Government in response to their manifesto commitment to undertake an “audit” of China. We will need your help to do this and we will soon be sending you a member survey so that you can tell us how you would like us to respond and what is top of your mind. So please look out for the email in your inbox shortly.
The path ahead for CBBC is exciting, and I look forward to navigating it with the input of our members, the counsel of our board, the support of the CBBC stakeholder community and the expertise of our excellent executive team.
