PM's Chinese New Year message

PM's Chinese New Year message

7 February 2008

The Prime Minister has sent his warmest wishes for the Chinese New Year.

• Read the transcript

In a specially recorded message, Mr Brown said the Year of the Rat would be a "momentous one" for China and he said he hoped the Beijing Olympic games in August would be the best ever. The PM added that he was proud that China would pass the Olympic torch to the UK at the close of the games.

Mr Brown also said it would be an auspicious year for relations between China and the UK, with both nations believing in "the benefits of globalisation". His recent trip to China had convinced him that the two countries' "economic strengths are complementary", he said.

The PM said:

"The UK is a hub for global services, whilst China is a powerhouse in manufacturing. We are both centres of innovation and entrepreneurship. We both benefit from open trade and investment. And we are both finding greater and greater opportunities in each other's economies.

"We are becoming more and more interdependent economically."

Mr Brown also gave his "wholehearted support" to the forthcoming 'China Now' festival, the largest ever celebration of Chinese culture in the UK.

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