Qingdao West Coast New Area deepens cooperation with UK

The Qingdao West Coast New Area and the Confederation of British Industry signed a cooperative agreement under the witness of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May at Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Jan 31.

The two sides agreed to jointly build the Life Science and Creative Industry Incubator at the Sino-UK Innovation Industry Park, as well as promote the development of the Sino-UK Trade Platform.

The Qingdao West Coast New Area and the Confederation of British Industry sign a cooperative agreement, under the witness of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May at Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Jan 31. [Photo/iqilu.com]   

The Sino-UK Innovation Industry Park, with a total planning area of 15.1 square kilometers, is China's first regional industrial park for Sino-British cooperation located in Qingdao. The project started construction in November last year.

The park is designed to attract British investment in sectors such as medical care, technology transfer applications, advanced manufacturing, creative design and cultural tourism.

The first phase of the park is expected to complete in 1.5 years with total investment of about 200 million GBP, equipped with incubators for life science and creative offices, a Sino-British innovation exchange center and other service facilities.

The park will be based in an international economic cooperation zone in the Qingdao West Coast New Area.

An aerial view of the Sino-UK Innovation Industry Park in Qingdao West Coast New Area. [Photo/dailyqd.com]  

The Qingdao West Coast New Area, established in June 2014, is a national-level strategy and home to a number of major industrial chains, each with at least 100 billion yuan in annual industrial output.

As the ninth national-level new area, it generated GDP of nearly 320 billion yuan last year, increasing by 11 percent from the year before.

The Confederation of British Industry is a UK business organization, which in total speaks for 190,000 businesses, made up of around 1,500 direct and 188,500 indirect members.

China aims to strengthen ties with the United Kingdom through the Belt and Road Initiative, in fields such as nuclear power, high-speed railroads, finance and high-tech trade, said Premier Li when meeting with Theresa May, who started her first official visit to China on Jan 31.

A design sketch of the Life Science and Creative Industry Incubator at the Sino-UK Innovation Industry Park in Qingdao West Coast New Area. [Photo/qingdaonews.com]