On 26th January, the 48 Group Club, China Chamber of Commerce in the UK (CCCUK) and China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) jointly hosted the ‘Icebreakers’ 2022 Chinese New Year celebration. This is the ninth consecutive year that the Bank of China London Branch has supported the event. More than 500 Chinese and British guests and audience gathered online to celebrate the Spring Festival, looking forward to a fresh start to Chinese New Year.
President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to the ‘Icebreakers’ 2022 Chinese New Year celebration. President Xi recalled that in the 1950s, British entrepreneurs, represented by Mr Jack Perry, embarked on a journey to break the ice of Western trade embargo on China. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the ambassadorial diplomatic relations between China and the UK. Looking back, we remember the old generation of friends who have made historic contributions to the development of the China-UK relationship.
President Xi hopes that “the visionary people from both our two countries, including the business community, will carry forward the ‘icebreaking’ spirit and expand mutually beneficial cooperation to give the China-UK friendship a new dimension befitting our times and bring more benefits to both our two countries and peoples”.
In his keynote speech, ZHENG Zeguang, the Chinese ambassador to the UK echoed that visionary people from our two countries, including the business communities, should persevere with confidence and not allow anyone to turn back the wheel of history and deny the common aspiration of our two peoples; should blaze new trail and share in the opportunities of China’s development.
Mr FANG Wenjian, Chairman of CCCUK, General Manager of Bank of China Limited London Branch, said that the tiger symbolises strength, courage, determination and confidence in China. He quoted an ancient story about how a tiger goes from nobody to king as an analogy for the flourishing of China-UK economic and cultural relations since the first icebreakers opened the door to trade links in the 1950s. He hoped that with the new challenges and opportunities for relations between the two countries, China and the UK could be more open-minded and accommodating to open up a new and shared future.
The Rt Hon Lord Hammond of Runnymede, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer said in his speech that the last two years of pandemic have been a challenging period for the global economy, especially for international trade and UK-China relations. China is the second largest economy in the world and it takes important position in UK’s export market and imports source. The UK remains a destination of choice for Chinese businesses investing in Europe. As China creates huge incremental market demand it will be an important partner for the UK post Brexit. Having been held for many years consecutively, the ‘Icebreakers’ Chinese New Year celebration has become an iconic event for the political and business communities from China and Britain.
