The Beijing chapter of the BVI Trade Mission began today, October 19, as Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE and his delegation paid a courtesy visit to the Director of Department of European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China, Mr. Xu Chen.

During the visit Premier Smith and Mr. Chen engaged in dialogue on a number of areas. Mr. Chen recognised and appreciated the personal efforts made by Premier Smith and the delegation to develop the relationship between the two countries.

He also expressed China's desire for a more fair and equitable world order and China's willingness to work towards greater cooperation. They both agreed that “globally we should all aspire to a common good of a better life for our people and future generations.”

Premier Smith expressed the need for continued global interconnectedness and explained the important role that the British Virgin Islands has played for the past 25 years, particularly with facilitating global investments.  

In addition, there was a joint expression and desire to work together in other areas such as tourism and agreed to continue to mutually share experiences.

Also in Beijing, the BVI delegation, including its private sector members, were welcomed and hosted by the President of the Chinese Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (CASME), Mr. Wang Min.

The BVI delegation was joined by senior members of CASME in banking, investment holdings, energy, technology, consulting and marketing industries, where discussions were held on how BVI structures could be used to support Chinese SMEs’ development.

For regular updates on the BVI Asian Trade Mission, visit the Government’s website at bvi.gov.vg/news or follow @BVIGovernment on Facebook, YouTube or Twitter. The public can also visit the BVI Finance website at bvifinance.vg or follow @BVI Finance on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.