China summit helps build bridges with an emerging superpower
The 2017 UK-Regional Leaders Summit, , about which our business correspondent Richard Sherriff writes on page 55, will discuss creative industries, health service technology and agri-food security.
It is very good news that Northern Ireland was successful in its bid to host the summit, and was supported by both London and Beijing in that effort.
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Hide AdBuilding links with China will be a key part of the Province’s economic strategy if we are to develop a meaningful international trading future.
Northern Ireland already has a bureau in China, as it does in Washington DC, with a role of strengthening the relationship with that vast nation.
With a population of 1.4 billion people, China already has an overall Gross Domestic Product 60% as large as that of the richest country, the United States.
Among many future opportunities is future tourism from China. If only take 2% of China’s people travel widely around the world that equates to 30 million globe trotters.
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Hide AdChina has a radically different culture to the West, including a different view on human rights, but even so the West will have to do large-scale business with it.
This important event raises Northern Ireland’s profile within that emerging superpower.