Business and Trade Committee
21 April 2026
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Business and Trade Committee House of Commons
00:04 - 00:27
Speaker 1
Order. Order. Welcome to today's session of the Business and Trade Committee as we open with our first hearings into the economic relationship between The United Kingdom and China. Reign Newton Smith, Peter Burnett, thank you very much indeed for joining us. Reyne, perhaps I could start with you.
Could you just give us, from your members' point of view, what is the business case for growing trade with China?
00:27 - 01:41
Speaker 2
Well, look, I think from our members and and, of course, we have members from across the whole economy and in The UK from financial services to higher education to manufacturing. I think what what they say is you can't have a growth strategy without having a strategy towards China. It's it's really obvious point, but I think it is worth emphasizing, you know, that China is the biggest contribution to global growth. It's our third largest trading partner. It's the largest global consumer market.
And I think particularly in a world where, you know, the The UK is the world's second largest exporter of trading services. And I think as the world develops, I think those are are the sorts of services that will be demanded by consumers in in China. So we are mindful as are all businesses around security risks. We need to be mindful of that in any country in which we operate, but I think there it's really important that we have a strategy towards China or engagement. And I think our members recognize that that this government have increased the economic engagement with China, and that has been really important.
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