Overview of the event

Over 150 firms from the UK signed up to explore the business openings and attend specially arranged appointments with the Chinese delegates, with teams of Chinese students from Bradford and Leeds Universities and Calderdale College, Halifax, on hand to interpret. They were also able to listen to specialist expertise and first-hand knowledge of the complex Chinese marketplace from a number of keynote speakers including Sir Stephen Brown. A panel of experts with long experience of Chinese-British relations, including Steve Buckley, Head of the Trade and Investment Section of the British Embassy in Beijing, took questions from the audience.

Mark Robson, regional director for UK Trade and Investment, who helps to shape international trade strategy for the Yorkshire and Humber region, chaired a seminar on ‘China Matters’, at which the keynote speaker was Steve Bellis, the general manager of Stockport County Football Club which has established a joint venture with Chinese football club Tiger Star.