Fang Wenjian, chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK and general manager of Bank of China's London branch, recalled the special bond shared between Xianyang and the two organizations he represents.

Fang said Bank of China has been engaged in a poverty alleviation campaign in Xianyang since 2002, through which targeted assistance is provided to four counties. Additionally, the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK, in collaboration with the City of London Corporation, launched a China-UK charity initiative in 2018, with its first project set for Changwu county in Xianyang.

Fang said the chamber of commerce plans to leverage its resources to introduce capital, technology, and talent to Xianyang, and guide UK enterprises in developing local specialty industries within the city under the framework of the memorandum of cooperation.

John McLean, chairman of the China UK Business Development Centre, told China Daily he finds it pleasant to see an increasing number of Chinese business delegations from various parts of China visiting the UK.

"My task is to promote China to my UK colleagues because the Chinese know far more about us than we know about them, and we've got to change that," he said.

He added that "the good thing about business is it continues whatever the world is doing", when commenting on the current complex geopolitical situation.

"I have been involved with China for 25 years, and we've had ups and downs, but if you look at the graph of business and trade between the two countries, it continues to grow," he said. "In business, you have to sit down and have discussions. You may disagree with me, I may disagree with you, but eventually, we find a way forward. That is dialogue. The more business takes place, the more threads it can create, and the stronger the relationship will be."