During their visit, 30 guests from the UK's automotive, finance, retail, and university sectors attended a roundtable event with officials of the Suzhou government.
Officials from the Suzhou Bureau of Commerce spoke about Suzhou's openness, cultural heritage, and innovative spirit and explained the policies and incentives that have been put in place to encourage foreign investment.
As of the end of 2022, Suzhou had more than 18,000 foreign-funded enterprises. The city is presently home to 191 multinational corporations, over 2,000 overseas investment projects and over 80 offshore innovation centers. It also has friendly relations with 58 foreign cities.
Founded in 1954, the CBBC is a national-level commercial trade network that promotes economic and investment cooperation between China and the UK. Its members include several leading British corporations, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as Chinese companies that are exporting to or investing in the UK.
The trade volume between Suzhou and the UK was worth $7 billion in 2022. UK companies had invested in 30 new projects in Suzhou that same year.