As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up in this new year, China will be further resolved to "cut through mountains and bridge over waters" in order to deepen the reform and open wider to the world. On reform, we will deepen supply-side structural reform and bring out the vim and vigour of various market entities. At the same time, we will transform the functions of governments, and put in place a system of rules and regulations that are well conceived, fully developed and effective. On opening-up, we will continue to open our doors and encourage two-way traffic. We will take measures to increase trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. Our aim is to open up our economy at a higher level and in all aspects, promote balanced trade, and effectively guide and support out-bound investment.

I am glad to say that China and the UK have highly complementary economies. Our economic cooperation and trade are solidly based and will be further powered by continued and deepening of reform and opening-up in China. Sectors that stand to benefit range from trade, infrastructure, equipment manufacturing to high-tech, new energy and financial services.

Let me give you an example. Last year, China adopted a series of new open-up measures. These measures have greatly increased market access, especially in the service sector. They include: Raising the limit on foreign ownership in joint-venture firms involved in the securities, fund and futures market; Treating domestic and foreign investors as equals in terms of ownership in joint ventures in the banking sector; And gradually in the near future, removing caps on foreign ownership in life insurance business. In all these areas, British companies have a competitive edge. Therefore, I encourage you to grab this opportunity and build up your business in China. I am sure both China and Britain will benefit from it. Later this year, in November, China's first International Import Exposition will open in Shanghai. British companies are most welcome there to explore new area to grow our bilateral trade.

The third opportunity comes from "Belt and Road". Seizing this initiative will give China and the UK a new platform and from this platform, we can go on to take the lead in an open global economy.

The Belt and Road Initiative represents a major effort of China to open up on all fronts. It is also an important public good that China provides to the region and the whole world. It is a public good for common development and global economic recovery. This Initiative embodies the spirit of peace and cooperation. It calls for openness and inclusiveness. It advocates mutual learning and mutual benefit. In the past five years since its inception, "Belt and Road" showed enormous appeal all over the world. It has by far attracted wide participation and delivered fruitful results. There is certainly a lot more to be expected going forward. China will continue to work vigorously to advance international cooperation along the "Belt and Road". Through such cooperation, we will strive for connectivity in policy, infrastructure, trade, finance and people-to-people exchanges. This will in turn allow production factors to flow in a more orderly manner, enable more efficient allocation of resources and deliver the benefit of a better integrated market.

The UK is known for being open and free in trade and investment. It is, in the words of Chancellor Hammond, "a natural partner" in the Belt and Road Initiative. In fact, we have seen a few pioneering efforts in this respect. The UK is the first major Western country to apply to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the second country after China to contribute to an AIIB special fund. During the ninth meeting of China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue held in December 2017, our two countries reached important agreements. This includes agreement on the establishment of a bilateral investment fund, with an initial input of $1 billion. This commercially-based and market-oriented fund aims to support investment in the two countries as well as in potential third market. I am confident that with our concerted efforts, China-UK cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative will deliver more benefits. It will create more opportunities and platforms for our companies to explore regional and international market. It will advance trade and investment liberalization and facilitation around the world. And it will contribute to making economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and universally beneficial.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I believe I have painted a grand picture of huge opportunities, strong driving forces and broad platforms. However, as President Xi said in his New Year message, we must not indulge in mere dreams or rhetoric. The more important thing we need to do is to adopt a down-to-earth attitude and deliver solid outcomes to translate this dream into reality. In this regard, may I share with you my three suggestions.

First, we need to match our development strategies. There is a strong match between China's Belt and Road Initiative and "Made in China 2025" policy, and the "Global Britain" and Modern Industrial Strategy of the UK in terms of the goals they set out to achieve. This creates opportunities for companies from the two countries to deepen cooperation. To help them seize these opportunities, I hope our two sides will continue to make our development strategies match and enhance policy coordination. This will provide a high-quality institutional environment and policy guarantee for companies to engage in economic and trade cooperation.

Second, we need to upgrade our cooperation to a higher level. The UK is highly experienced and competitive in financial and legal services, high-end manufacturing, clean energy, creative industry, bio-science and medicine. While in China, on top of a huge market, our economic structure is being improved, new sectors such as digital economy are thriving, and the innovation-driven development strategy has been effective and delivered fruitful results. I look forward to continued efforts from you, both Chinese and British entrepreneurs, to put your strengths together. There is huge potential to be tapped in expanding trade and investment and enhancing industrial and innovation cooperation. Together, we could achieve common development.

My third suggestion is to enrich tri-partite cooperation. China and the UK have a huge potential and promising future in Belt and Road cooperation. It is my hope that both Chinese and British businesses will step up practical cooperation under this framework and work together to explore a third market along the Belt and Road. I encourage you to put your respective strengths to use as you work to meet the need of Belt and Road development. I encourage you to go out there to connect with the countries along the Belt and Road. I hope that in the process of cooperation, you could build your brand name and create the highlights of your business. This will deliver win-win results to more than just China and Britain. This will benefit three or even more parties involved.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As a Chinese saying goes, a nine-storey tower rises up from a pile of soil. Building China-UK cooperation requires the same down-to-earth approach. I sincerely hope that the business communities of our two countries will act in this spirit, seize the valuable opportunities of this new era, embrace new ideas and break new ground. I am sure, by working together, we will deliver more "golden fruits" for China-UK "Golden Era", and make new contribution to and scale new heights in China-UK economic and trade cooperation.

To conclude, I wish the China-UK Economic and Trade Forum a complete success!