英國威爾士議會政府經濟部長訪渝希望與重慶在汽車、航空、文創等領域合作

2017年2月20日，威爾士政府經濟部長肯·斯凱特出席第十一屆重慶威爾士周活動。 攝影/熊怡

“重慶近年來發展迅猛，在汽車、旅游、信息產業等領域取得了重大進展，這些也是威爾士的重點發展產業。”2017年2月20日，英國威爾士議會政府經濟和基礎設施內閣部長肯·斯蓋茨（Ken Skates）首次到訪重慶，并出席第十一屆重慶威爾士周相關活動。肯·斯蓋茨表示，重慶和威爾士建立友好關系已經11年，希望進一步增進威爾士與重慶在經貿領域的深度合作，深化彼此的信任和理解，助推雙方工商界的合作與交流，推動雙方經貿信息更加積極有效地互通。

“威爾士和中國的友誼持續升溫，我們駐重慶、北京、上海的辦公室也與當地政府建立了緊密的友好合作關系，我們還希望借助中國中央政府和中國駐倫敦大使館將這一關系推上一個更高的臺階?！笨稀に股w茨表示，近年來，威爾士和中國的貿易合作日益緊密，中國投資者也越來越關注威爾士的投資環境。繼英國脫歐以后，威爾士更加重視和中國友好關系。目前，有超過4500名中國留學生在威爾士學習，威爾士已落成3所孔子學院，分別在卡迪夫、班戈、蘭彼得。“威爾士具有開放的商務環境，在汽車、旅游、信息產業等領域有著良好的發展態勢。此外，威爾士的創意產業僅次于倫敦位居英國第二?！笨稀に股w茨說。

“我認為，兩個城市或地區之間應遵從‘先交朋友，再做生意’的原則?！笨稀に股w茨認為，重慶作為中國西部地區唯一的中央直轄市，近年來經濟發展令人矚目，重慶和威爾士建立友好關系11年來，也讓兩地在文化、社會和經濟等領域合作交流密切。他特別提出，希望威爾士在汽車制造、航空航天、數碼電子、文化創意等領域與重慶開展合作項目。

肯·斯蓋茨此行與重慶市商務委員會、市文化委員會等部門舉行了一系列重要會議，會見了有前往英國、特別是威爾士投資意向的中國工商界精英。并與市體育局討論確定開展重慶與威爾士青少年足球培訓項目，為重慶職業和業余青年足球運動員提供威爾士豐富的足球資源，并通過兩地的足球運動員互訪，進行學習交流和培訓。

■編輯：熊怡

Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy Visited Chongqing Hoping to Cooperate with Chongqing in Extensive Fields Including Automobile, Aerospace and Cultural Creativity

2017 Wales Week Reception. Photographer/Xiong Yi

“With rapid development, Chongqing has made significant progress in extensive fields including automobile, tourism and information industry in recent years. These fields are also the key development industries of Wales.” Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure in the Welsh Government paid his first visit to Chongqing on February 20, 2017. During his visit, he attended the related activities of 2017 Wales Week in Chongqing. Ken Skates said that Chongqing had established friendly relationship with Wales for 11 years, and he hoped to further promote the cooperation between Wales and Chongqing in the field of trade and economy, enhance mutual understanding and trust, boost the business cooperation and exchanges between both parties and encourage the positive and effective communication about trade and economy.

“The friendship between Wales and China keeps deepening,and the Welsh Government Offices in Chongqing, Beijing and Shanghai have established close relations of friendly cooperation with local government. We hope to drive the relations toward a higher level with the support of the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Embassy in

London.” Ken Skates said that the trade cooperation between Wales and China were getting increasingly close in the recent years. On the one hand, Chinese investors increasingly focused on the investment environment in Wales. On the other hand,after Brexit, Wales paid more attention to the friendly relationship with China. At present, more than 4,500 Chinese overseas students study in Wales, and three Confucius Institutes have been established in Cardiff, Bangor, Lampeter respectively. “Wales has opened business environment and good momentum of development in fields like automobile, tourism, information industry.In addition, the creative industry of Wales comes second in the UK only to London.”

“I hold that the exchanges between two cities or two regions should follow the principle of making friend before doing business.” Ken Skates said that Chongqing, as the only municipality directly under the Central Government in the western region of China, had made great achievements in economic development. Since Chongqing established friendly friendship with Wales 11 years ago, the cooperation and exchanges between two parties have been close in fields including culture, society and economy. He specifically proposed the idea that Wales could carry out cooperation projects with Chongqing in fields including automobile manufacturing,aerospace, digital electronic industry and cultural creativity.

During the visit, Ken Skates held a series of important meetings with departments like Chongqing Municipal Business Committee and Chongqing Municipal Culture Commission and met China’s business elites who had the intention to invest in the UK, especially in Wales. Besides, he discussed with Chongqing Municipal Sports Bureau about developing a youth football training program between Chongqing and Wales. The program would provide rich football resources from Wales for professional and amateur young football players in Chongqing and promote studies, exchanges and trainings by exchanged visits of football players of both regions.

■ Editor: Xiong Yi

Tr. by He Yufang