Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, visited China in March 2025 and met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, China’s National Energy Administrator Minister Wang Hongzhi, and China’s Ecology and Environment Minister Huang Runqiu in Beijing to commit to pragmatic engagement on the climate crisis, cooperating with China to reduce global emissions. Writing in The Guardian ahead of the visit, Miliband said: “The only way …
A recent adjustment to Beijing’s work permit rules is much-needed positive news for young Brits looking to develop their early careers in China. CBBC’s Managing Director for China Tom Simpson explains where we find ourselves today and what is being done to help revitalise exchanges aimed at developing an understanding of China among the UK’s next generation. The Chinese government recently announced it will remove the requirement for foreigners with… …
2023 has been about recovery: recovery of relationships, revenues, and – in more ways than one – our collective sanity, writes Tom Simpson Over the past year, we have seen a gradual rapprochement of Western relations with China, including the UK, after a few years of tense relations and largely constructive introspection. This was particularly the case over the last four months with James Cleverly’s visit to Beijing and the …
After 20 years based in the China Life Tower in an office opened by Prime Minister Tony Blair in July 2003, the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) has relocated our Beijing office to a new location at Guanghualu Soho II in Guomao The new space has been designed to provide a modern and stimulating working environment for our Beijing team while positioning our event and meeting space as a hub for …
According to government figures released this week, China’s economy expanded 6.3% year-on-year in Q2, falling short of the consensus forecast of 7.3%, writes Tom Simpson While growth of 6.3% may appear strong, Q2 of 2022 saw China’s economy expand by 0.4% as the country experienced severe disruption from its zero Covid policy – so Q2 of 2023 was always expected to be a higher-than-average number. Seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter growth saw… …
In an op-ed originally published in Caixin, Tom Simpson writes that as foreign businesses operating in China conclude their damage assessment of the annus horribilis that was 2022 and reset expectations following the sudden scrapping of zero covid, the mood is shifting toward cautious optimism There is widespread relief at the prospect of a more predictable operating environment and the resumption of connectivity with the rest of the world since… …
China’s scrapping of zero covid and reopening to the world is widely regarded as the most important economic story playing out in 2023. And so far, it is living up to expectations, writes Tom Simpson With restrictions removed, wave one saw covid spread at an unprecedented speed and scale, with 80% of the population estimated to have been infected with the virus. China’s healthcare system was pushed to new limits …
China’s regional GDP growth figures for 2022 offer a lot to reflect on after a difficult year, but with the country open again, there is much to look forward to in 2023, writes Tom Simpson China’s economy grew by 3% in 2022 according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, with H2 activity improving on the 2.5% growth in H1. While much higher than the figure recorded by the… …
On 8 January 2023, China ended the quarantine regime for international arrivals that had been in place for nearly three years to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Domestic restrictions have also been lifted, allowing the resumption of in-person events and travel within the country The transition from strict zero covid measures to complete reopening has been swift, and it remains to be seen what the year ahead will bring for… …
In December 2022, after nearly three years, zero covid appears to have been confined to memory, with China entering the early stages of a new “coexisting with covid” strategy, writes Tom Simpson, CBBC’s Managing Director of China Operations and Chief China Representative Why the sudden change? The 180-policy reversal seems to have been prompted by three main factors: a major outbreak in Beijing, growing frustration at zero covid (and hard… …