2014年是总领事任期的最后一年。我工作上的新年目标，是要持续深化华南六省与英国的关系。对我个人来讲，则是要起码走遍广东省内珠三角以外的主要城市。利用刚过去的圣诞假期，我去了趟潮州和汕头，但还有很多地方我没去过。

新年元旦的晚上，我在办公室写了这篇文章。窗外天色已晚，但早些时候，我和儿子散步时，阳光明媚。广州是个很棒的城市，当我要离开它时，应该会有不舍。

2014年是总领事任期的最后一年。我工作上的新年目标，是要持续深化华南六省与英国的关系。跟其它地方相比，珠三角可能相对容易，因为我们已经建立了大量的联系、举办了众多的活动。对我个人来讲，则是要起码走遍广东省内珠三角以外的主要城市。利用刚过去的圣诞假期，我去了趟潮州和汕头，但还有很多地方我没去过。

2013年对于我们，是英中高层政治关系的重建之年。我们通过努力，成功安排了财长奥斯本访粤这一具有标志性意义的英国高层访问。财长此行的重点议题都将是领馆2014年工作的重中之重。财长对于台山在建核电站的访问，体现了我们对于中国投资英国核心基建的欢迎。华为和腾讯之行，又强调了英国开放的商业投资环境以及英国科技企业与广东优秀创新企业的合作契机。他拜访了广东省委书记胡春华先生，以“拴紧”双方关系的纽带。与财长访粤同时，我们还安排了大学与科技国务大臣的访粤行程，以期进一步拓展双方在医疗等领域的研究合作。

对于我们来说，2013年的另一个亮点是我陪同广东省省长朱小丹访问英国。省长的主要行程围绕低碳和绿色发展，这是英国和广东有着紧密合作的领域。作为此次访问的成果，广东碳排放交易中心暨英中（广东）碳捕集利用与封存研究中心随后在2013年底成立。在今年，这将继续是一个双边合作的重要领域。我们希望，在今年能够支持清洁能源与高效生产领域的联合试点项目在广东成立。

领事馆并非形单影只。我们的合作机构包括英国文化协会（也称作英国领事馆文化教育处）、广东英国商会、英中贸易协会以及英国旅游局，都和我们并肩工作。在所有推广活动中，我们都使用了GREAT（非凡英国）标志，正如我们在世界各地使用的一样，以体现英国具有魅力的优势。你有可能在广州的多部公交车上也看到过这样的标志。上个月我们在广州太古汇举办的“GREAT英国-时尚英伦秀”活动上，GREAT标志在会场随处可见。2014年，GREAT标志更不会缺席，例如我们可能会在英国饮食展上使用它。

英国领事馆文化教育处将继续支持学校教育和职业教育的交换项目。在2014年，文教处将与广东省教育厅合作在广东成立一个新的英国学徒制试点项目。文化教育处还将继续组织Smart Talks 活动，邀请来自英国有趣并富创造力的演讲嘉宾。这些活动都是对公众开放的，并会在文化教育处的网站上发布预告。我们英国政府久负盛名的志奋领奖学金项目也将继续期待您的申请，我们刚庆祝了该奖学金的30周年纪念。在广东，已经有超过200位杰出的志奋领奖学金获得者，他们至今活跃在英中合作的各个领域。

随着从广东赴英留学、出差以及旅游的人数持续增加，我们将进一步致力于为所有申请者提供快捷可信赖的签证服务，我们也将提供更广泛的优先服务选择。在2014年，我们在广州和深圳的签证中心也计划升级。

我们对于英国和广东的合作和民众交流的支持还体现在其它诸多方面。在2013年，我们庆祝了伦敦奥运残奥会一周年，在活动上，两名广东籍伦敦残奥冠军帮助我们将奥运火炬和奥运精神传递给了巴西驻广州总领事，继而传递给了里约的人民。就我来讲，聚拢包括学界和政策执行方，来讨论社会议题，是最具意义和价值的工作之一。

广东有超过一亿的人口，而英国领事馆却只有不到100人，（虽然算上文化教育处的同事，人数更多一些）。这或许意味着，我们的影响有限。但是，在广东和英国之间，却有着广阔的互惠领域空间。如果领事馆能承担起催化剂的作用，那这个角色就是值得的。这也是我们员工的努力方向，他们中的大多数也都是广东人。我以他们的付出而自豪。最后祝大家新年顺意。

I am writing this in the office on the evening of the first day of a new year.  It is now dark outside, but earlier the sun shone brilliantly as I walked with my son from my home in Ersha island.    What a great city this is. I shall be sorry when I have to leave it.

2014 will be my final year as British Consul General in Guangzhou.   My official resolution is to use the year further to strengthen ties between the six provinces I cover and the UK.  This is probably easier in the Pearl River Delta, where we already have a large amount of contact and activity, than in some other parts of the district.  A personal resolution of my own is at least to visit each of the other major cities of Guangdong beyond the PRD.  I used the Christmas break to travel to Chaozhou and Shantou but there are still many places I have yet to get to.

2013 was marked for the Consulate by the re-establishment of high level contact between political leaders in Britain and China.   We worked hard to arrange the symbolic visit to Guangdong by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.  His visit highlighted themes and activity that will be a continuing focus for the Consulate in 2014.  He went to the nuclear generator being constructed in Taishan to underline the UK’s welcome for Chinese investment in the development of core infrastructure in the UK.  He went to Huawei and Tencent to emphasise the UK’s openness to business investment and also the opportunities for the UK’s technology companies to work highly innovative and successful companies in Guangdong.  He called on Provincial Secretary Hu Chunhua to cement these and other ties. 

For us another highlight of 2013 was the visit to the UK, which I accompanied, of Governor Zhu Xiaodan.   The Governor’s programme focused on low carbon and green development, an area of intense collaboration between the UK and Guangdong.   The visit has now been followed by the launch of Guangdong’s Emissions Trading Scheme and the UK-China (Guangdong) Centre for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage.  This will continue to be a priority area of cooperation in 2014.  We hope, during the year, to support the launch in Guangdong of joint pilot projects in the field of clean energy and efficient production.  

The British Consulate does not work alone.  Our partner organisations include the British Council (which here is the cultural and educational section  of the Consulate), the British Chamber in Guangdong, the China-Britain Business Council and Visit Britain.  This promotional activity uses the GREAT brand which we now use across the world to highlight the attractive strengths of the United Kingdom.  You may have seen it on buses operating last year on a number of routes in Guangzhou.  We also used it last month in the British Fashion show we organised in Taikoo Hui.  We’ll be using GREAT branding again throughout 2014, for example in a campaign to promote British food and beverages

The British Council will continue to support exchange programmes in schooling and vocational education.  In 2014 the Council will launch a new UK Apprenticeship Pilot in Guangdong in partnership with the provincial Department of Education.  It will again be organising Smart Talks with interesting and creative speakers from the UK.  These are usually open to the public and advertised on the Council’s website.  The Consulate will once again be seeking applications later in the year for British Government’s prestigious Chevening Scholarship, which has just celebrated its thirtieth birthday.  We already have over two hundred distinguished alumni in Guangdong with strong professional links with the UK.

As the number of students, business visitors and tourists from Guangdong to the UK continues to rise, we shall continue to work hard to deliver a rapid and reliable service to all visa applicants, with an increased range of priority service options. In 2014 we are planning to upgrade our Visa Application Centres in Guangzhou and in Shenzhen.  

We support cooperation and people-to-people links between Guangdong and the UK in many other fields.  In 2013 we marked the anniversary of the London Paralympic Games with an event at which two of Guangdong’s gold medal winners at the London Games helped us pass an Olympic torch and the Olympic spirit to the Brazilian Consul General and on to the people of Rio.  For me, our work to bring together experts, scholars and practitioners to discuss social issues is some of the most rewarding work we do

There are over a hundred million people living in Guangdong and the British Consulate has a staff of fewer than one hundred (though rather more than that if you include the British Council).  This might suggest that our impact here can only be a small one. There is, however, enormous scope for mutually beneficial cooperation between Guangdong and the United Kingdom.  If the Consulate can be the catalyst that enables this, then that is a valuable role to play.  This is what my staff, most of whom are themselves natives of Guangdong, are trying hard to do.  I am proud of their efforts.   I wish them and you all the best for 2014.

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领事馆活动中使用的GREAT（非凡英国）标志