It is good to be back in Guangzhou after three weeks away – for the last few days I have been in the UK. I was speaking about the opportunities in Guangdong and Southern China at a series of Doing Business in Asia briefings organised by UK Trade & Investment. We travelled from north to south, with events in Scotland, East of England, London, the Thames Valley. Everywhere I went my sessions were full, with a high level of interest by British companies from a wide range of sectors. If we are to meet the British government’s ambitions for the UK’s trade and Investment relationship with China, we need to support entry into the market by many new companies. In 2010, UK export of goods to China rose 41%, but there are still very many British companies that have not yet decided how to tackle the China market.
Before visiting the UK, I spent the Spring Festival in Beijing with my wife and daughters, while my son was travelling in Guangdong with his university friends. I enjoyed Beijing, particularly walking around the frozen lakes at the Summer Palace and Beihai, and admiring the Niujie Mosque. Best of all was eating a quarter of dabing from a small shop in a hutong. I have been daydreaming about authentic Beijing laobing. Cantonese food is splendid, but I still miss Beijing bing.

在离开广州三个星期后，我很高兴我又回来了。在过去的一段日子里我在英国参加了由英国贸易投资总署组织的一系列“在亚洲做生意”会议，向大家介绍广东和华南地区的商机。我们的行程从北走到南，包括苏格兰，东英格兰，伦敦和泰晤士谷。每到一处我的安排都很满，了解了很多各个领域高层次的英国企业的兴趣所在。如果我们要迎合英国政府对英中投资贸易关系的目标，我们就需要支持新的公司进入中国市场。2010年英国到中国的商品出口上升了41%，但仍然有许多英国公司还没有决定如何进军中国市场。
在回英国之前，我在北京和我的妻子和女儿们一起过了春节。我的儿子则和他的大学朋友到广州游玩。我很喜欢北京的日子，尤其是在颐和园 和北海公园里结了冰的湖面上散步，以及在牛街清真寺游览的感觉。我最爱的是在胡同里的一间小店里吃大饼。我一直都在做梦能吃上正宗的北京烙饼。其实粤菜很棒，但我还是想念北京的饼。