§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the implementation of the recommendations of the Davies report on China trade promotion. [55474]
§ Mr. WilsonImplementation of the main recommendations of the report on China trade promotion is now well underway
from 1 September the renamed China British Business Council (CBBC), under its new President Sir Charles Powell, began the task of identifying key sectors of business on which to focus the main thrust of our trade promotion effort;the CBBC is in the process of identifying a new Chief Executive, with the aim of appointing a suitable applicant before the end of the year;a major conference will take place on 8 December to assess the results of the recent visit by the Prime Minister to China, and how these can most effectively be followed up;during his visit the Prime Minister announced the appointment of Michael Heseltine to head the British side of the new China Britain forum;the Prime Minister secured the agreement in principle of the Chinese Government, to the opening of a new British Consulate in Chongqing which will further enhance our commercial and diplomatic efforts in inland China.These steps, and others currently being considered by the Government and other interested parties, are aimed at helping more capable British companies, in particular SMEs, to benefit from the continuing opportunities in the Chinese market along the lines recommended in the Davies report.