News archive 2008

Principal accompanies PM to China & India

21 Jan 2008, PR 17/08

The Principal of King's College London, Professor Rick Trainor is one of 25 leading British business figures, including Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson and CBI Director General Richard Lambert, taking part in the Prime Minister Gordon Brown's current visit to China and India.

Following a UK-China business summit in Beijing, the delegation visited Beijing's People's University and attended an Olympic event to hear first hand of the city's preparations for this year's games ahead of London hosting the 2012 Olympics.

In a meeting between Mr Brown and the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, they agreed to increase trade between the two countries by 50 per cent by 2010 and agreed a joint target of increasing two-way trade to $60billion (£30billion) over the next two years.

Mr Brown also said he wanted 100 new Chinese companies to invest in the UK by 2010. He said the relationship between Britain and China was 'absolutely crucial' to the success of the global economy as a whole. 'We said we want Britain to be the number one destination of choice for Chinese business as it invests in the rest of the world.'

Prestigious delegation

Professor Trainor, who is also President of UUK, comments: 'I am very honoured to be part of this prestigious and important Prime Ministerial delegation to China and India promoting trade and investment. This is a unique opportunity to advance both King's and UK universities more generally in these emerging new markets and to underline the central importance of UK higher education to our bilateral relationship. We have highlighted the opportunities to further develop this relationship and hope to forge new ones.'

The delegation has now flown on to Dehli, India, for meetings with key Indian decision makers and opinion formers. The aim is to promote the UK's position as one of India's leading trade and investment partners and explore the potential for UK companies and academic institutions to contribute further to India’s economic development, and to foster more opportunities for strategic business collaboration and sharing of technology and new ideas.

Notes to editors

King's College London
King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher 2007) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has 19,300 students from more than 130 countries, and 5,000 employees. King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. The College is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings and has an annual income of approximately £400 million. An investment of £500 million has been made in the redevelopment of its estate.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, social sciences, the health sciences, natural sciences and engineering, and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres – more than any other university.

Further information
Melanie Gardner, Senior Public Relations Officer
Public Relations Department, King's College London
Tel: 020 7848 3073;  email: melanie.gardner@kcl.ac.uk

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This information is provided by the Public Relations Department
Tel: 020-7848 3202  Fax: 020-7848 3739  Email: pr@kcl.ac.uk