Jersey ‘ideal go-between for Britain and China’

Monday 24th January 2011, 3:00PM GMT.

China’s vice-premier, Li Keqiang

JERSEY has a real opportunity to play a key role in helping to develop new business links between Britain and China, according to the chief executive of Jersey Finance.

Geoff Cook said that the Island was able to provide the type of flexible company structures required for the two countries to work together on low-carbon ‘clean-tech’ energy generation, finance and other new technology.

The development of these business links was on the agenda for discussion when China’s vice-premier paid a visit to Britain earlier in the month.

And Jersey was represented at a major event in London during the visit aimed at building closer business links between China and Britain.

About 500 Chinese and British politicians, officials and business leaders attended a banquet held in honour vice-premier Li Keqiang. It was hosted by the China-Britain Business Council at the Royal Courts of Justice, and Mr Cook was among the guests.

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1
Sarah Davis

January 24, 2011 at 3:36 pm

LIke an amoral conduit? I remember when I was training with a big four accountancy firm over here some years back. We had a work experience girl in the department whose disertation was on Chinese politics. She was shocked, and so was I, that none of the Jersey born graduate trainees in the dept had heard of the Tianamen Square massacre or what it was about (democracy, human rights). This was Jersey’s crop of the brightest and best yet know knowledge of issues outside their little bubble. I think they fitted in very well over here with the attitudes of our main industry.

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2
small money

January 24, 2011 at 6:11 pm

sarah, lots of people are short on history.
india and the east are hard places , compared to the bubble.
was “the empire” much better ?
it would be a great world if we all got along , respected one another , and it was a fair and level playing field.
mind you there is alot of “i am alright jack” about.

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3
Pip Clement

January 24, 2011 at 6:12 pm

If the Chinese want a conduit to London they have Hong Kong.
It is on their door step, they own it, it is packed with their own countrymen and women, they speak the same language and they understand their business methods.
It is time that Jersey Finance started to show results from all this jaunting.

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4
Adrian

January 24, 2011 at 10:26 pm

Pip HK are also up to speed on this sort of thing and lets face it will be more competitive due to lower wage costs.

They also speak many languages as opposed to the one language spoken by most of those in Jersey finance. They are well mannered and very well educated.

How many in finance over here know any Mandarin? Probably zero.

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5
Arnald

January 25, 2011 at 9:07 am

China has the largest illicit capital outflow. There’s a huge market in tax dodging and fraud.
India has the second largest.

The Channel Islands’ big push? China and India.

Speaks volumes.

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6
Mark

January 25, 2011 at 10:48 am

Is it not be better if Brittan and China learnt to speak to one another face to face? What has our great Foreign Minister, Freddie, got to add that William Hague lacks?

Self garnishment will get us nowhere.

Spot on Pip (3).

Sarah (1) The failure to learn from history abounds, not just in Jersey. Great Britain has gone to war in Afghanistan, a country that has seen off every foreign power since time immemorial. Whilst in China, the ‘foreign devils’ (Britain) is remembered as the country that imposed the drug trade (opium wars) on China

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7
Jenny

January 25, 2011 at 2:44 pm

As other have mentioned. There is this little place called HONG KONG. British legal system intact, has its own goverment, low tax rate and is a world leader in financial services.

Nice try though. This bit though is wrong:

‘and lets face it (Hong Kong) will be more competitive due to lower wage costs.’

HK is not some cheap labour source like it was in the 1960s. Wages there are equal if not higher than in Jersey. Plus there are probably a lot more billionaires there than here.

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8
Jenny

January 25, 2011 at 2:53 pm

‘If the Chinese want a conduit to London they have Hong Kong.’

‘It is on their door step, they own it, it is packed with their own countrymen and women’

Yep but at the same time it is also packed with Westerners (and many British) who know how the Chinese system works. So its a conduit both ways.

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