Sino-British entrepreneurs bullish on bilateral ties

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE - Both Chinese and British entrepreneurs are bullish on the Chinese market and bilateral collaboration in industries such as retail, healthcare and care-giving to senior citizens.

Addressing the 4th UK-China CEO dialogue on Tuesday, Zhu Xinli, chairman of China's juice producer Huiyuan Group, said entrepreneurs both from China and Britain should regard China's economic restructuring and growth slowdown as an opportunity, rather than merely an arduous process.

In the context of so-called "new normal" in China, entrepreneurs' status is set to rise, as well as the expectations and encouragement from the society. Besides, more opportunities will emerge during and after the restructuring, he added.

Tom Troubridge, chairman of the China Business Group of PwC UK, said although the Chinese economic growth has slowed down, it is still much higher than all major advanced economies. In history, no country could keep growing at a high rate forever.

"If we take the economic scale of China into consideration, in a longer term, a 3 percent growth also indicates a large GDP increment," he added.

He noted that currently there are 725 million urban residents in China, with an urbanization rate passing 50 percent. With urban residents looking set to number over 1 billion, the process of China's urbanization not only benefits the country's real estate industry, but also boosts the market of retail, education, healthcare and environmental protection.

Troubridge said he expected that there will be more acquisition activities of British brands by Chinese companies in the future, boosted by the growing demand of increased consumption of China's expanding middle class.

Gordon Johncox, managing director of British cider producer Aston Manor, said he was optimistic on China's cider market, as China is the largest beer consumption market and the largest apple juice consumer.