A key feature of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s UK state visit is a stop in the Northern English city of Manchester. The British government hopes Chinese firms will be part of a massive development plan for that region.
According to CCTV America’s Paul Barber, it fits into China’s much larger plan to link East and West. China’s One Belt One Road trade superhighway will come right through Xinjiang, one of the most remote regions on earth, and link China and Asia to western Europe.
That’s why George Osborne, the British finance minister, visited this region during his recent trip to China. He wanted British companies to have a slice of the construction pie. But that’s not all. Osborne’s plan is to make Britain China’s closest western friend, aligning the Northern Powerhouse project in the UK to the Belt and Road initiative. He wants to see Chinese companies take advantage of high-speed rail, better connecting the region to London and Europe.
Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, supported it during his U.K. state visit: “the Belt and Road initiative is open and we know that when everyone adds wood to the fire, the higher the flame goes. We welcome the UK’s participation and we encourage Chinese companies to participate in the construction of the Northern Powerhouse and make more investments so we will achieve win-win results.”
Xinjiang has already joined property projects in three northern English cities, worth nearly two billion dollars.
UK hopes One Belt One Road to boost Northern Powerhouse
A key feature of Chinese president Xi Jinping's UK state visit is a stop in the Northern English city of Manchester. The British government hopes Chinese firms will be part of a massive development plan for that region.Christopher Bovis on One Belt One Road
For more on U.K.-China cooperation in the Belt and Road initiative, CCTV America spoke to Christopher Bovis. He is a professor of Business Law at the Business School of the University of Hull.