The UK session of the 2025 “Invest in China” promotional conference was hosted by China’s Ministry of Commerce on April 4 in London.

Long Xiaohong, director of the Department of Commerce of Hubei Province, emphasized Hubei’s commitment to enhancing attractiveness and utilization of foreign capital and refining the mechanism for high-level opening-up‌. She expressed Hubei’s willingness to deepen cooperation with the UK in emerging sectors such as green transition, information technology and artificial intelligence‌.

In 2024, bilateral trade between Hubei and the UK reached 2.113 billion U.S. dollars, marking a 25.3-percent increase year on year. And a total of 175 investment projects were signed, amounting to 430 million U.S. dollars‌.

Notable British enterprises, including AstraZeneca, Prudential, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Kingfisher and Unilever, have set up branches in Hubei‌. In addition, BP and Dongfeng Motor Corporation jointly launched Castrol Dongfeng Lubricants Co., Ltd., while collaborative platforms like the China-UK Hydrogen Energy Cooperation Forum have been established to foster innovation between Hubei and the UK‌.‌ (en.hubei.gov.cn by Ruan Xinqi)