City of London keen to seize opportunities from Belt and Road Initiative

Catherine McGuinness

Five years on from its initial announcement， China’s Belt andRoad Initiative remains an incredible vision， and a clear areafor greater collaboration between the UK and China.

The first Belt and Road Forum for Intemational Cooperation washeld in Beijing in 2017， which “truly gained the world’s attention”，and since then several UK companies have paid BRI-focusedvisits to China to leam first-hand about the opportunities for furthercooperation.

The City of London sees opportunities for further cooperationbetween the UK and China in the Belt and Road Initiative （BRI）.

Late last year， the City of London Corporation's Green FinanceInitiative. in partnership with China's Green Finance Committee.published a set of BRI green frnance guidelines.

The BRI is an ambitious plan， which London， and more broadlythe UK financial and professional services sector， can support bybeing a key hub for intemational infrastructure investment.

With its unrivaled talent pool in fmancial and professionalservices， the City of London could also play a role in areas such asgreen finance. consultancy， rule of law and foreign exchange.

Partnerships between UK and Chinese companies will be key insupporting infrastructure development across the region， particularlyin terms of projects and initiatives in third countries， where UK andChinese strengths are complementary.

The City of London Corporation engages and works closely withthe government，policymakers， regulators and businesses. Its workincludes exploring opportunities for UK businesses around the world.The BRI is “the project of the century”， which London could supportby being a key hub for the financing and professional services required.

The UK is a leading international financial centre， and a country withhundreds of years of experience in infrastructure financing and countlesssuccess stories to share. As a result we have so much to offer the BRI，and we look forward to working with partners in China， and across theworld， to ensure we play a role in this “project ofthe century”.

We encourage UK companies to discuss BRI-related issuesat home and abroad. The corporation also discusses BRI-relatedopportunities and mutually beneficial potential cooperation ventureswith the Chinese government and with industry leaders.