Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Positive reactions from both East and West indicate that by late summer Cambridge will be housing the first of many new Chinese inward investors.

St John’s Innovation Centre’s (SJIC) managing director, Walter Herriot, said: “The visit showed the importance of China to the region and Cambridge’s ability and readiness to accommodate them.

“One of the principal gains from the visit has been an enhanced awareness of Chinese companies keen to work with us. Cambridge has demonstrated that it has the resources and capabilities in place to bring people over from China and fully integrate them.

“The next step comes at the end of June when a UK delegation visits Guangzhou and a number of companies will be identified to come to our region.

“That will be followed around late summer, early autumn by a visit from Chinese companies with a view to establishing themselves in the Cambridge area, including SJIC. I expect any that come to SJIC to be in IT and software.”

Wang Qiming, of the Science and Technology sector of the Chinese Embassy, added: “The delegation felt they were meeting the right people and are very confident about the work they can do in Cambridge. Two or three in particular were very positive about coming back.”

Eight companies from the Guangdong province involved in biotech, IT and Venture Capital, were accompanied by local government officials.

They met, amongst others, representatives of visit organiser Invest East of England, SJIC, the University of Cambridge and Granta Park.

Qiming said: “All the companies were positive about what Cambridge has to offer and believe that once they set up here, their products will succeed. They have the finances and the resources to come here and succeed.”

Qiming said a 200-strong delegation would visit the UK in October, led by the Governor of Guangdong. May saw another Chinese visit, from Macau to SJIC, the ex-Portuguese colony in Guangdong.

Herriot cautions that, while China presents a great opportunity for the East of England to boost trade, similar links with India “will be ignored at our peril.

“India hasn’t received the same trumpeting as China but it is a fast-growing economy and there are huge opportunities for our companies there.

“We are seeing Indian companies and entrepreneurs seeking collaborations with Cambridge counterparts and it seems wise to foster those relationships.”