China woos Northern Ireland with promises to boost investment, trade
Beijing seeks closer ties with Belfast at a new trade forum, with Northern Ireland offering potential entry to European market
China launched a charm offensive at a new Northern Ireland trade forum on Tuesday, as Beijing’s chief diplomat to the United Kingdom promised fresh investment and opportunities to tap the vast consumer market of the world’s second-largest economy.
“China is Northern Ireland’s second-largest source of imports and 12th-largest export market. We want to see an even more balanced trading relationship between our two sides,” said China’s ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, during his opening speech at the event in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.
“So we encourage more investment coming this way. And that is why you are seeing more than 100 Chinese business leaders present today,” he added.
Northern Ireland currently has the largest trade deficit with China of any UK region, with its imports from China rising 14.67 per cent year on year to £1 billion (US$1.3 billion) in 2024, while its exports to the country fell 14.7 per cent to £145 million, according to data from the China-Britain Business Council.
But the Northern Irish economy has outperformed the rest of the UK in recent years, as it remains the only UK region still part of the European single market. Northern Ireland’s output rose 2 per cent in the second quarter, compared with nationwide growth of 0.3 per cent, data from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency showed.