Mark Clayton, Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in South China, discusses the significance of the UK's participation as the country of honour at the China Consumer Show. He highlights increased UK-China engagement and collaboration, despite global trade uncertainties driven by U.S. tariffs. Clayton also emphasizes opportunities to strengthen UK-China economic ties, particularly in life sciences, legal services, energy, and the creative sector.
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00:00Mark Clayton is chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce, South China.
00:04I asked him about the importance of this event, particularly for British business.
00:09Due to the level of engagement we've seen between the UK and China,
00:14for example, we've seen more engagement in the last six months than in the last six years combined.
00:19And that's allowed an environment for more collaboration between UK and China
00:24and more opportunities for UK businesses.
00:26So this show coming at this time, where the UK is the country of honour
00:31and had a large pavilion there with media, with KOLs, it's a really good opportunity.
00:36This expo, of course, is coming at a very difficult time,
00:40given the global uncertainty that's been brought about by Donald Trump's campaign of tariffs.
00:45What are people discussing in light of this current climate?
00:50So the tariff situation has obviously come up.
00:53It's come up a few times.
00:54Me personally, I own a factory called China to West, and we export 60% of our goods to the USA.
01:00So it affects and disrupts my business, personally.
01:04But at the China Consumer Show, where the UK is the country of honour,
01:09it's only really come up in passing.
01:11People are optimistic that what they're doing here is not really affected.
01:17It's insulated in a way that China still has such a large market and the UK is trying to import its products to sell in China.
01:25And the US, yeah, we hope it doesn't go on too long.
01:29We hope it resolves itself without creating a global recession.
01:33But right now, even though it's being brought up, it's, yeah, there is a portion of optimism.
01:38Is there any sense of possible knock-ons?
01:42You know, the tariffs, most notably between the US and China, could it inevitably mean a knock-on for British businesses such as yours?
01:51For myself, yes.
01:52Due to me being a manufacturer in China that exports, yeah, it usually does affect us.
01:58So we're trying to reposition our offering, which we're looking at India as well, as an example.
02:04And I know a lot of other people are as well.
02:06But on the ground here, there is obviously the concern that there could be knock-on effects that could impact the consumer market,
02:13where some people get nervous about spending money, they save money.
02:18The Chinese are, as a nation, very large savers rather than spenders.
02:23So there is that sort of nervousness.
02:25But we're also quietly confident that there will be quite a large stimulus package by the Chinese government
02:32directed towards consumption coming in the next few weeks.
02:37Is there also perhaps the opportunity, given this global uncertainty,
02:42to strengthen economic ties between the United Kingdom and China?
02:46Definitely.
02:47You're spot on there.
02:48There really is.
02:49Today has shown that.
02:50We had the Right Honourable Douglas Alexander, the Minister for Economic Policy and Trade,
02:59sorry, Economic Security and Trade Policy, come to the show.
03:03He did an opening remark at the opening ceremony.
03:07He also hosted a government-to-government dialogue with the governor of Hainan Province
03:13and the party secretary of Hainan Province, and it shows that there is opportunities.
03:20As we do more dialogue, then the Chinese as a country and as businesses and as local government
03:26open more up to UK businesses.
03:28We've become sort of like a friendly country, a friendly nation to do business with here.
03:32So, whilst the U.S. may be retracting from globalization, there is a huge opportunity here for British businesses,
03:41as long as this dialogue and engagement continues.
03:44Which are the sectors that you're most excited to see development in?
03:48Things like life sciences, legal services is a big one,
03:52because China is starting to develop more and become more aware of the requirement of legal services,
03:58professional services. So, that's a really a strong point in the UK itself, the British business,
04:04but something we can definitely export into China.
04:07I'd also say energy and the creative sector as well.