Britain’s early attempts to build commercial links with China were not a resounding success. The first, in 1596, came to abrupt end when a trade delegation – a small merchant fleet under the command of Captain Benjamin Wood – was lost to a combination of piracy, desertion and Indian Ocean storms.
Today, I’m pleased to say, our relationship is a lot more constructive. When, in late September, I joined the chancellor and a large delegation of British business leaders on a five-day mission to China, we not only arrived in one piece – a big improvement on Captain Wood’s effort – we also landed in a country that is one of the Britain’s foremost trading partners.
