Trade and investment
Auteur: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee
Nombre de pages: 36 pages
ISBN: 0215560949, 9780215560940
Edition: The Stationery Office
Date de publication: The Stationery Office
Description: The Business Innovation and Skills Committee broadly welcomes the Government's strategy for engagement with China and acknowledges the recent improvements in the UK/China trading relationship. However, the report concludes the UK's performance continues to lag behind countries such as Germany. China's latest 5-year plan has targeted a number of key areas for its economy, which UK sectors are well equipped to support. The Committee believes that the Government needs to actively target those sectors so that UK companies can exploit that advantage. The report also highlights Shanghai Automotive's investment in MG Rover as a shining example of the benefits to the UK of long-term investment by an overseas investor. It urges the Government to ensure that similar companies are alive to the benefits of investing in the UK and to support that investment. The Committee highlights problems with the experience and perceptions of the UK visa regime in China and airs its deep concerns that Ministers appeared to be unaware of the level of disquiet on this issue from both UK and Chinese companies. The Government should urgently address these failings so that Britain is truly open for business. The protection of intellectual property is another area of concern for UK companies looking to work in China and the report stresses the importance of resolving this problem. While the UK and Chinese governments are working towards a solution it asks the Government to set out clearly what protection it can provide UK companies in the interim period.