Sir Charles Bowman, former Lord Mayor of London and Adviser to PwC, remains optimistic about renewed high-level engagements between the UK and China. Key areas of collaboration include RMB internationalization, green finance, fintech, and Stock Connect.
Speaking to CGTN’s Li Jianhua, Bowman reaffirmed London’s status as a global financial hub, stressing the need for continued investment in infrastructure, renewable energy, digital innovation, and healthcare.
Speaking to CGTN’s Li Jianhua, Bowman reaffirmed London’s status as a global financial hub, stressing the need for continued investment in infrastructure, renewable energy, digital innovation, and healthcare.
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00:00In 2017-18 I had the honour and privilege of serving as the 690th Lord Mayor of London,
00:10an ancient role that dates back to 1185. That year was, as I often describe, a wonderful
00:16whirlwind of activity, often engaged in centuries-old city civic ceremony. Gold coaches, a tricorn
00:24hat, pairs and pairs of breeches and many pairs of 60 denier tights, but at the same
00:31moment engaged in the modern purpose of the mayoralty and that is acting as a key spokesperson
00:39and a principal ambassador for and on behalf of UK's financial and professional services
00:43sector. So the main job is to promote London as a financial hub and during your tenure
00:49as Lord Mayor of City of London in 2017 and 2018, you promoted the idea of engaging with
00:56China financially and you travelled extensively in the country. Looking back, what do you
01:01see as the progress that has made and in what areas do you think both countries or both
01:07parties should work on further? Yes, it's a very good question and I've seen a lot of
01:11change over the course of my engagement with China and I would immediately point to RMB
01:16internationalisation, green finance, fintech and perhaps Stock Connect too. Perhaps looking
01:21at the UK-China relations and as it relates to finance in particular, a little saddened
01:29and disappointed, if I have to be honest, by the unhelpful direction of travel of UK-China
01:36bilateral relations over the last four years, but really delighted and pleased with the
01:41change that we've witnessed over the last six months and that is beginning to bear economic
01:46fruit for both UK and China. And perhaps to further highlight that fact, really pleased
01:53to see in this year's and indeed recently launched CCC-UK report, the positive attitudes
02:01towards the UK business environment that almost doubled, doubled when comparing companies
02:06completing the survey pre and post our summer 2024 general election. So, ever since the
02:12Labour government took office in July last year, we have witnessed a plethora of high-level
02:18exchanges between the two countries and you attended the latest China-UK economic and
02:23financial dialogue with UK's finance minister, Rachel Reeves. It's a mechanism that promotes
02:29and facilitates the direct engagement between China's vice-premier and the UK's chancellor
02:35of the Exchequer. What were your takeaways from the visit? I start by saying it was an
02:40incredibly important step forward in the bilateral relationship. It was fantastic to join senior
02:48business leaders both from Britain and from Chinese financial institutions and there was
02:54significant outcome across financial services, but importantly beyond. Outcomes also included
03:01agreements in areas such as agriculture and there are plans now being developed for an
03:06upcoming GECCO in the summer. So, overall I would say that the collaboration was very
03:12significant and of course it will benefit both the UK and China domestic growth agendas,
03:18both important agendas for China and for the UK. And the Labour government is trying to
03:23reassess and audit its relations with China right now. Do you think the recent high-level
03:30exchanges will facilitate or solidify London's role as the financial centre? Yes, I think picking
03:38up this point about London being an attractive place to invest and in order to leverage what
03:43I often describe as the emerging opportunities in that space and therefore investment is key
03:50and crucial and that's beyond simply financial and professional services. So, I put that into
03:56areas such as infrastructure, renewable energy, digital innovation, healthcare, education,
04:01public services, culture and creativity, all important areas and areas of great opportunity
04:08again for UK and China to collaborate. But that must be facilitated, that level of investment
04:16must be facilitated through wider, broader international collaboration, whether that's
04:23with our longer-term partners of Europe and the USA, but also with China and other emerging
04:29economies within the Indo-Pacific region. The UK must remain open, it's been doing that for a
04:35thousand years. I mentioned earlier the importance of free trade and it needs to commit to remaining
04:43open, commit to that concept of free trade and look to the long term. And do you think free trade
04:51now is being interrupted? Clearly, there are changes in the geopolitical landscape at this
04:58moment in time and as one who's been an advocate of free trade throughout the course of my career,
05:03particularly as I say over the last decade or so, I think we're going to find a much more
05:09challenging environment as we trade going forward. Ultimately, I think free trade will be the winner.
05:16Free trade properly, as you said, would be the winner. The European Union has slammed additional
05:21tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. Do you think that could give the UK and China more collaboration
05:26in the future? I hope so. Look, I think the progress made by China as it relates to that
05:34particular sector has been remarkable in the last five to ten years or so. And slightly coming back
05:42to the point I made earlier in resolving these issues globally, we need all of us to play our
05:47part and China has an important part to play. So looking back across your 20 years of engagement
05:53with China, what are the key lessons you would like to share with us? Gosh, that's a big and
06:00very good question. But perhaps I would focus on three or four things. Legacy is key. Trust is
06:08absolutely critical. And I'm delighted to see that trust is being reintroduced back into the
06:15system with the concept of focusing on shared values. But probably the key point I'd choose to
06:22make is that it is important that the long game outwits the short term. Life is a long game.
06:29Recognise that long game and we will all succeed for the future. Yeah, it's very interesting you
06:33mentioned trust being reintroduced between the two countries. And during China's Foreign Minister
06:39Wang Yi's visit to the UK, he also mentioned rebuilding the trust between the two countries.
06:44But it is much easier said than done, isn't it? It is. And I'm afraid in the game of trust,
06:51critical to bilateral relations right the way across the world, trust arrives on foot and leaves
06:58on a galloping horse. We need to invest considerably to retain, maintain and develop that level of trust.