Mr. Christopher Hum, British Ambassador in China, was very "happy with the relationship between UK and Chongqing municipality in southwest China". He recognized that the joint efforts of the British Consulate-General in Chongqing and the local municipal government had proved that their decision of having this office there absolutely wise. And Mr. Wang Hongju, mayor of Chongqing, expressed his hope that the office would serve as a "window, bridge and tie" better to bring "more extensive, closer and more frequent" contacts between the city and the rest of the world.

Mr. Wang Hongju, mayor of Chongqing municipality(R), gives his message of congratulations on Mar.17 for the 5th anniversary of the establishment of the British Consulate-General in the city.

Both of them made these remarks in Chongqing recently when they celebrated the 5th anniversary of the establishment of British Consulate-General in the newest municipality in China.

This coincides with the 5th anniversary of China's resolution on developing the country's vast west area. The UK believed that the development of west China would bring about tremoudous opportunities for cooperation between southwest China and UK. It was this vision that prompted them to set up a Consulate-General in Chongqing where they were convinced to be a "good place to exploit the opportunities".

At that time, it was the only such office established by a foreign nation there. When BBC sets up its resident station in Chongqing soon in the future, it will be the first western media in China's inland region. Tim Summers, British Consul-General in Chongqing, was fully confident that the visa service, a latest offer by his office, would further "boost the commercial, educational, scientific and cultural links between the UK and southwest China."

Over the past five years, the UK has become one of the largest investors in Chongqing and its trade with the city doubled. The cases of BP's investment here, the largest foreign investment in manufacturing in China's inland areas, and Scottish and Newcastle's 19.6 percent stake in Chongqing Brewery, were repeatedly mentioned by British and local officials during the celebration ceremony.

There were also symposiums on infrastructure, water treatment, ICT, media relations and law. British capital has also made presence in local chemical, infrastructure, digital TV, and other business.

However, Mr. Hum thought his country's "most attractive product" was education. He and Mr. Wang both confirmed that there were more Chinese students in the UK than any other countries in the world. Mr. Hum was confident that his country would secure the leadership in the years to follow.

He also said that the UK had good cooperation with universities in Chongqing and British Consulate-General here had organized many cultural events, such as fashion shows, film festivals and UK Education Week.

Primary schools in Chongqing and the UK are engaged in a teachers' exchange program. Two days before the celebration, a team of British teachers had arrived in Chongqing who would told primary students a real UK.

That was an old story, answered Mr. Hum when asked about a survey which showed British people were generally thought to be "conservative". He described his country as "new, modern, innovative and forward looking" while proud of her history.

That is the impression that Mr. Hum and his colleagues have been trying to make Chinese people think of UK.

Mr. Christopher Hum (L), British Ambassador, and Mr.Tim Summers, British Consul-General in Chongqing, answer questions by media in Chongqing on Mar.17.

A program called Think UK was launched in 2003 in China and lasted the whole year. It showcased the modern art, education, business and cultural achievements made by UK. A series of activities were held in Chongqing.

This year's emphasis is on science and technology. UK-China Partners in Science, a one-year campaign to promote the "natural partnership" between China and UK on science and technology, has been underway in major cities in China. Last Tuesday a UK-China Food Safety Seminar was held in Chongqing to mark the inauguration of this program in southwest China. Before that local government department signed an MOU with Tim's office promising to make joint efforts on hosting the campaign there.

The seminar is followed by a series of similar conferences in southwest cities on urban regeneration, robotics, potato development, traditional Chinese medicine, new materials, botany and climate change.

Mr. Hum released that they were discussing with Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology about how the "potential of scientific research would be realized quickly both in UK and China".

UK's willingness of boosting ties with China is built on the fast growth of China's economy. China investment in the UK is growing steadily. But there is no Chongqing investment there. Tim's office is trying to help local companies with interest in launching ventures in his country. And he saw an increasing number of UK SMEs coming to southwest China. Both Mr. Hum and Mr. Summers recognized that Chongqing was making rapid progress in its economic performance and forecasted a promising future.

Relationship between China and UK has been strengthened particularly since the two countries forged "comprehensive strategic partnership" during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the UK last May.

In January this year, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw visited Beijing and declared that UK supported EU's decision on lifting the 15 year ban on arms sale to China. In February Chinese banking and fiscal top officials met their G7 counterparts in London where they had equal and candid dialogues on the global economy and China's macro-economic policy. It is important that G7 expressed their understanding on China's efforts on the exchange rate of its currency. After that at the end of the same month, Gordon Brown, British Finance Secretary, visited Beijing.

In July this year, UK will take the presidency of EU. Mr. Hum said it was an "important responsibility" of UK to strengthen the ties between EU and China. EU-China summit, the 8th in the history, will be held this September. He also disclosed that British Prime Minister would come to China for a visit this year.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson told Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai in their meeting in Beijing last month that EU hoped the issue of China's status as a market economy be solved as quickly as possible.

All of these positive signals indicated that much is expected in 2005, the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationship between China and its largest trade partner in the world. And UK seems to be willing to play a bigger role than ever in pushing the Sino-EU relations forward.

UK's increasingly active participation into the development of west China represents that its interest in China is extending to the regional economy in the country. The concept of regional economy is quite hot in today's China, such as the "rise" of central China, the "rejuvenation" of the old industrial base in the northeast, and the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and the Bohai Rim. The idea will even be enshrined into the 11th Five-Year Plan which is being mapped out.

For foreigners, many just cannot imagine how big China is. It is not easy for anyone to understand the whole China. But it may be easier to learn something about a region, which is normally also very big.

The Chinese government launched a macro-control campaign last year to leverage its economy. Since then the access to bank credit and land supply has been tightened. But in a list issued by the State Development and Reform Commission for foreign investment in China, all the items for the mid-west are under the category of "encouraged." Foreign investment on mineral resources, grain and stock products processing, and auto parts are especially welcome.

And the mid-west will open its service trade ahead of schedule, including the business of gas, water, and heat supply, pipe construction and tourism.

The central bank also promised specific measures to build a favorable financial environment in China's west, such as faster improvement of infrastructure of the financial market and rural financial system. Reform on rural financial system has attracted attention of the World Bank.

Actually Chongqing has developed manufacturing industry. And Mr. Gerald Moy, a WHO expert who gave a speech on organic food at the UK-China Food Safety Seminar in Chongqing, thought the soil in west China was better than that in western countries as it was not polluted so long time of industrialization as that in western countries.

Chongqing is showing a strong desire of "going out". In April this year, it will hold its 10th Trade Fair. In June its business delegation will visit Russia. And it is gearing up for the Asia Pacific Cities Summit in October. Walking around the city, you can see more and higher buildings. And new construction surge is still gaining ground. Developers label their projects in a way that associates the building with Hong Kong, New York, London or Paris. Shopping centers price their products even higher than those in Beijing.

Compared with eastern coastal areas, the inland city is less open and known to the outside world. This is partly because of the transportation and its heavy agriculture. Now transportation is not a problem and the Internet has overcome the geographic barriers. Agriculture is the top priority of the Chinese government.

Contacts made possible by programs like seminars of UK-China Partners in Science give opportunities for Chongqing, or the west area at large, to understand and get understood. In many fields, such as food safety, they do not have much idea about each other. It is just an exchange of information.

Take the food safety seminar as an example, local attendees are more concerned about the technical trade barriers, costs of applying certain technologies or standards, the real situation of the implementation of standards in developed countries and the certification. The panel discussion that day lasted longer than scheduled.

As Mr. Hum stressed it was a celebration of the "beginning" of active cooperation and relationship. His hope was apparently shared by all the attendees, either Chinese or British.

By People's Daily Online