Greg Hands represented HM Government in welcoming President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China to Inmarsat.
On Thursday, 22 October, Member of Parliament for Chelsea & Fulham and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Greg Hands, had the honour of welcoming President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China to Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, at its London headquarters.
This visit formed part of the Chinese President’s historic State Visit to the UK. Also in attendance were HRH the Duke of York, the Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Mr Liu Xiaoming, and Inmarsat executives. This group of dignitaries viewed Inmarsat’s Network Operations Centre, and the prestigious visit reflects the close working relationship between Inmarsat and China.
Speaking after the visit, Rupert Pearce, CEO of Inmarsat, said: “We were most honoured to welcome President Xi to our London headquarters today. His visit reinforces the long and trusted relationship Inmarsat has had with China since our establishment in 1979 and underscores our commitment both to strengthening our partnership with our long-established channel partners in China and to supporting President Xi’s visionary ‘One Belt One Road’ strategic initiative. We welcome today’s visit as an opportunity to demonstrate how our business and humanitarian partnership with China can continue to grow and develop, bringing commercial, technological and social benefits both within China and to countries within OBOR and indeed to Chinese businesses across the globe.”
Also commenting after the visit, and pleased to have played a part in this historic meeting, Greg Hands said: “President Xi’s State Visit has proved to be a defining moment in this golden era of British-Chinese relations. Trade is growing, investment is growing, and the people-to-people contact is growing between our two nations.
“China is investing more in Britain now than any other European country, which involves Chinese companies employing people and creating jobs. Among the industries benefitting from this relationship is retail, with over £1 billion in export deals to be agreed, which will see UK-based companies expand into China. This State Visit will also see more than £30 billion worth of trade and investment deals completed, creating over 3,900 jobs across the UK.
“In addition to these commercial deals, the State Visit will provide an opportunity for the UK and China to discuss how we can work better together on global issues including the threat of terrorism and extremism. All of this will help our Conservative-majority Government meet its commitment to provide a more secure future for working people in Britain.”