Agreements for closer links with China and possible inward investment have been promised to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council following a fact-finding visit by a delegation from the Chinese Embassy.
Possible twinning links and an invitation to the Embassy to sign up to working in partnership to promote the area to Chinese businesses were among the successes of the visit to the borough yesterday (5 July).
The visit was a major coup for Basingstoke and Deane and came after links were made between the council and the embassy during the visit in May of HRH the Duke of York, who is the UK's special representative for international trade, to meet senior management and staff of Huawei Technologies in Basingstoke.
Representatives of Huawei Technologies, which has its European headquarters in Basingstoke, also helped to host the visit which showcased the business benefits of the town. The China business advisor for UK Trade and Investment South East also attended.
Creating a learning campus, bringing together further and higher education on one site in the borough with links to national and international universities and offering training to support the needs of local employers, was among the topics for discussion during the whistlestop visit. Plans for the regeneration of Basing View to breathe new life into the commercial heart of the town were also unveiled to the visitors.
The party saw an award-winning borough business in action, with a trip to Vitacress. They stopped off in the Chineham Business Park to learn about how the borough has some of the best value commercial rental rates in the south east.
There was also a close up on how the borough is nurturing young technological talent with a tour of the art and technical block at Queen Mary’s College, where there was a presentation by the young enterprise team from Costello Technology College.
The council’s Cabinet Member for Economic and Educational Development Cllr Andrew Finney said: "This was a fantastic opportunity for the area to show that we are an economic powerhouse in the south east.
"A report to the South East Development Agency called us a virtual gateway to the global economy and we are determined to capitalise on this potential to bring real benefits to the borough. Building international links like these is one of the ways we can help to ensure the future prosperity of the borough. The visitors from the Chinese Embassy were very interested in the borough and impressed by what they saw. The visit was a real success and forged a partnership to raise interest from Chinese investors in the future.
"We hope to help any local firms wishing to establish links with China and the embassy are keen to support such links"
Photograph one shows:
Front row: The Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane Cllr Warwick Lovegrove greets the delegation from the Chinese Embassy (from left to right): Lu Zhouxiang, Jiang Fan, Li Minghui and Hui Liu
Photograph two shows:
Lu Zhouxiang from the Chinese Embassy, the council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development Cllr Andrew Finney and Jiang Fan from the Chinese Embassy, on a tour of Vitacress led by Production Manager Tanya Mew