STORY: CIFTIS great platform to deepen Sino-UK cooperation: British trade commissioner
DATELINE: Sept. 1, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:49
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Shougang Yuan, the second site for CIFTIS
2. various of speeches
3. SOUNDBITE (English): TOM DUKE, British Trade Commissioner for China
4. various of Shougang Yuan, the second site for CIFTIS

STORYLINE:

Tom Duke, British trade commissioner for China, has said that the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) is a great platform for China and the UK to continue to deepen cooperation and market access in the services sectors.

Duke made the remarks in an interview ahead of the upcoming fair, which will be held in Beijing from Sept. 2 to 6.

Britain will be the guest country of honor of the 2023 CIFTIS.

SOUNDBITE (English): TOM DUKE, British Trade Commissioner for China
"This year ('s CIFTIS) is bigger and better than I have ever seen, which is why we're really excited to be country of honor at CIFTIS, because the UK and China are both really important countries when it comes to services trade around the world. And I think this is a great platform for us to continue to deepen our cooperation and our market access in the services sectors. The UK is a country that has excelled in services trade and services exports around the world. Almost half of our trade is trade in services with the entire world, but in China, less than 30 percent of our trade is in services. So we think there's a lot of room to develop that and to increase our trade which will be mutually beneficial to both the UK and China. And we think that CIFTIS is the ideal platform to showcase the full range of areas where the UK and China can work more in services trade whether that's financial professional services, healthcare services, environmental services, technology services, the full range. There is a real amazing set up of different forums, seminars and symposiums which the UK will of course be playing a full part in, both as a government, but also our 100-strong business delegation will be taking part in all the events in CIFTIS. And we really do hope that we can boost the UK-China services trade for the mutual benefits of both of our countries."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)