Overview
- Multiple outlets report preparations to relaunch the UK‑China CEO Council alongside a possible visit by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Beijing next week.
- Sky News reported that HSBC chair Brenand Nelson is set to join the business delegation, with executives from London Stock Exchange Group, Prudential and Rolls‑Royce also expected.
- British companies invited are reported to include AstraZeneca, BP, HSBC, InterContinental Hotels Group, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls‑Royce, Schroders and Standard Chartered, with Chinese participants such as Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Mobile, ICBC, CRRC, Sinopharm and BYD.
- Negotiations to revive the forum had been under way for months and were accelerated after the UK approved plans for China’s largest European embassy at Royal Mint Court, and the British embassy in Beijing says any travel will be announced in the usual way.
- Sources say politically sensitive firms like CGN and Huawei are unlikely to rejoin, and the outreach is unfolding as President Trump’s criticism of the UK‑Mauritius Chagos agreement strains ties with Washington.