Minister counsellor addresses young ice-breakers

By Rory Howard
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, March 23, 2015
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Mr Jin Xu, recently appointed minister counsellor to the Chinese Embassy in the UK, gave a speech on March 19 to the Young Ice-Breakers in London. His humorous speech was received warmly by the audience of politicians and high-level business people.

Mr Jin Xu, recently appointed minister counsellor to the Chinese Embassy in the UK, gives a speech on March 19, 2015 to the young ice-breakers in London. [Photo by Wang Zhiyong/China.org.cn]

Mr Jin Xu, recently appointed minister counsellor to the Chinese Embassy in the UK, gives a speech on March 19, 2015 to the young ice-breakers in London. [Photo by Wang Zhiyong/China.org.cn]

The Young Ice Breakers is the successor to the 48 Group Club, a collection of UK business men who established trading and business ties with the People's Republic of China over sixty years ago, after it had just been founded.

The audience may have hoped for a thorough discussion on the future developments of the UK and China's ever strengthening ties, especially since the UK applied to be part of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, but Mr Jin Xu spoke more candidly and humorously on a whole range of topics.

The most notable feeling to come out of the speech was one of optimism for the ties between the two countries.

With trade from the UK to China at some US$80 billion and growing and with China aiming to greatly increase trade to the UK the message is still that now is the time to be forging business ties and creating innovation in the opening markets.

Another notable discussion point was the Maritime Silk Road and the continued efforts to better connect China with Asia and the Western hemisphere.

With the Maritime Silk Road will come more opportunities for businesses to access markets that had been otherwise inaccessible.

Besides business, Mr Jin Xu also humorously told the audience about President Xi Jinping's love of football and of Mr Jin Xu's hope to see China in the World Cup, hosting the World Cup, and winning the World Cup.

Mr Jin laughed and said that hinted that such a goal might be far off. But to the keen watcher China has experienced such a meteoric rise in its economic and political power in the last decade that top football teams such as Germany, Brazil, and France might hope they do not see a similar rise in China's football skills.

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