On 17th January, Mr. Chen Zhiwei (Member of CPC Dongguan Municipal Committee and Head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Dongguan Committee) met with a delegation led by Ms. Jo Hawley (British Consulate-General in Guangzhou. This is the first time the Consul General has visited Dongguan after assuming her new post, which reflects the importance the Consul General attaches to the friendly cooperation and exchange between Dongguan and the United Kingdom.

The two sides conducted discussed cooperation across various fields such as industry, technology, education and tourism, to understand the important role of Dongguan in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The delegation also had an exchange with representatives of Dongguan entrepreneurs.

Huang Weiguo (Executive Deputy President and Secretary-general of Dongguan Chamber of Commerce), said that Dongguan has close ties with the United Kingdom since many products made in Dongguan are exported to the UK, and many of the second generation of Dongguan merchants have been studying in the UK. It is hoped that the British Consulate General in Guangzhou will help Dongguan merchants better understand the investment environment in the UK, and to bridge the gap for Dongguan businessmen's enterprises to "go global".

Ms. Jo Hawley said she hoped that she can better understand the fields and interests of Dongguan businessmen investing in the UK through this exchange and provide supporting information as necessary.

As at November 2019, there were 46 UK-invested companies in Dongguan, accumulatively absorbing US$66.1 million of contracted foreign investment and accumulating actual foreign investment of US$50.7 million. From January to November 2019, the total trade volume between Dongguan and the UK was 21.74 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%, accounting for 1.8% of the city's import and export volume. Among them, exports to the UK were 20.55 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%, accounting for 2.7% of the city's total exports, while imports from the UK were 1.18 billion RMB, a year-on-year decrease of 19.7%, accounting for 0.3% of the city's total imports.