Information on Loughborough

Chinese visitors to enjoy taste of Leicestershire

Posted on 22/09/2009

Leicestershire Councty Council Chief Executive's

22 September 2009

Chinese visitors to enjoy taste of Leicestershire

Top Chinese officials are sampling a slice of Leicestershire's food and drinks industry during a high-profile visit.

Headed by the Vice Governor Li Chengyun, the delegation from Sichuan province is in the county to explore investment opportunities within the local food and drinks market.

County Council Leader David Parsons welcomed the group - the largest and most senior from Sichuan since 2002 - to County Hall today where they met representatives from economic development company Prospect Leicestershire and East Midlands China Business Bureau.

Extremely strong business and trade ties are already in place between the two areas which have been twinned for over 20 years.

Recent examples include Hinckley-based Sigma Precision Components, a subsidiary of Avingtrans PLC, whose business has been growing rapidly after setting up manufacturing facilities in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan.

Confectionary distributor Sichuan Sweetrip Food Co Ltd has also just opened offices in Leicestershire.

County Council Leader David Parsons said: "It is with great pleasure and in a spirit of friendship and co-operation that I welcome the delegation to Leicestershire.

"This is the first visit since last year's devastating earthquake hit Sichuan and I'm proud that we were able to help our many friends and colleagues in the region through our appeal fund.

"I'm delighted to have the opportunity to renew relations and bolster business links."

The visit has been supported by the East Midlands China Business Bureau which was set up in 2005 to promote trade and business between the regions.

Sichuan is in Southwest China, has a population of over 85 million and is leading China’s ‘Go West’ strategy.

Last summer, County Council Leader David Parsons handed over £5,000 to the Red Cross to help people devastated by an earthquake which hit Sichuan in May 2008. The money was collected through an appeal fund set up by the County Council in the aftermath of the tragedy which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale.

A total of 22 Leicestershire schools are twinned with counterparts in Sichuan. One of the most recent visits involved pupils and staff from Nanshan Middle School in Mianyang, one of the worst affected cities, who visited their partner William Bradford Community College in Earl Shilton. A group from Luzhou City are also visiting Rawlins Community College in Quorn next month.