Although Great Britain is already the largest European investor in
China, and Chinese students studying in the UK account for the
largest number of foreign students there, and the Chinese language
has become a very popular foreign language to study in the UK,
there is still much room for cooperation between the two countries,
according to a British diplomat in China.
He
said recently that they are striving to give Chinese young people
aged 16 - 35 greater access to contemporary Britain while also
letting young British people know more about China. "Think UK", the
largest campaign of its kind organized by the British government is
part of this endeavor, strengthening links between young people in
both countries.
It
is reported that the British government will soon formally
publicize this campaign and some of its activities have already
successively begun in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and
Chongqing.
Mr. Ben Fender, press officer for the British Embassy in China,
said Great Britain had launched a large-scale campaign to introduce
the UK in New York in 1998. However, "Think UK" in China will be
the largest campaign of its kind the UK has ever launched
overseas.
In
order to attract more Chinese peoples' interest to the UK, the
British Embassy to China has worked hard to design these
activities. They used a bar called "Imaginary Space", located in
Beijing's embassy area, to hold the press conference to communicate
with the Chinese media.
According to Ms. Cheng Huiqin of the news division of the British
Embassy to China, the core content of this campaign involves the
following activities: a sculpture exhibition tour called "Asian
Field", which was created by a noted British sculptor with local
people and materials from south China's Guangdong Province;
"Sino-British Writers Train", which will allow writers from the two
countries to travel all over China by train in search of innovative
ideas; "50 Years of DNA ", recollection and history of the 50th
anniversary of the discovery of the secrets of DNA structures by
British scientists; and "Passion for Fashion" which will enable
Sino-British young fashion designers to cooperate and compete on
the same stage. "Sino-British Challenge Campaign" will let young
people of the two countries compete in physical strength,
intelligence and endurance.
(China.org.cn translated by Wang Qian April 18, 2003)