0:00
What exactly did Kier Stalmer what did
0:02
Britain get out of the prime minister's
0:04
big trip to China? Well, the prime
0:06
minister was delighted with it. His aids
0:08
have been telling us that they got more
0:10
than they could ever have expected. I
0:11
think that's something like expectation
0:13
management. Um, what did he get? Well,
0:16
there's a 5% reduction in the tariffs on
0:18
Scottish whiskey, so they can raise a
0:19
glass to that in the Highlands. Nothing
0:21
to sniff at. The city quite liked it.
0:23
the cities, the global financial center.
0:25
So, anything that gives them more market
0:27
access is something that they would
0:29
welcome. Uh we also got visa free travel
0:32
for 30 days. That's something which
0:34
China has already extended to about 50
0:36
countries including most of Europe. Uh
0:38
it's not something I will likely be
0:40
taking advantage of myself for my Easter
0:42
holidays. Um the prime minister, I
0:44
think, mostly got the visuals of being,
0:46
as he put it, at the top table. He likes
0:49
this sort of thing. But we spoke to
0:51
about 40 of the 50 organizations that
0:54
went on this trip with the prime
0:55
minister. And uh all but four of them
0:58
declined to comment when we asked them
1:00
what they wanted, what they got, and
1:02
what they thought of closer ties with
1:04
China. Those that did respond were
1:05
mostly here in the city. And as I said,
1:07
they welcomed a lot of the moves. Things
1:09
like uh potentially recognizing our
1:11
professional qualifications, making it
1:12
easier to do a bit of business there.
1:14
The biggest deal announced was
1:15
Astroenica pumping billions into China
1:18
in the form of investment. The prime
1:20
minister welcomed that as if it was
1:21
investment in this country, which of
1:23
course it isn't. In fact, Astroenica has
1:25
canled hundreds of millions of pounds
1:27
worth of investment in this country
1:28
because they say we're not competitive,
1:29
but they're going to give it a go in
1:31
China. Personally, I think we should be
1:33
wary of China. I don't know why Karma is
1:36
so desperate to be seen to be bringing
1:37
them in from the cold, as he puts it.
1:39
There's even talk that China's president
1:41
could visit Britain. So the prime
1:43
minister got his trip. He got his photo
1:44
ops. He got his seat at the top table. I
1:47
think that table was far from groaning
1:49
under the weight of a full banquet.
1:51
seems to have just been uh laden with a
