2017年2月20日，威爾士政府經(jīng)濟(jì)部長(zhǎng)肯·斯凱特出席第十一屆重慶威爾士周活動(dòng)。 攝影/熊怡

“重慶近年來(lái)發(fā)展迅猛，在汽車(chē)、旅游、信息產(chǎn)業(yè)等領(lǐng)域取得了重大進(jìn)展，這些也是威爾士的重點(diǎn)發(fā)展產(chǎn)業(yè)?！?017年2月20日，英國(guó)威爾士議會(huì)政府經(jīng)濟(jì)和基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施內(nèi)閣部長(zhǎng)肯·斯蓋茨（Ken Skates）首次到訪(fǎng)重慶，并出席第十一屆重慶威爾士周相關(guān)活動(dòng)?？稀に股w茨表示，重慶和威爾士建立友好關(guān)系已經(jīng)11年，希望進(jìn)一步增進(jìn)威爾士與重慶在經(jīng)貿(mào)領(lǐng)域的深度合作，深化彼此的信任和理解，助推雙方工商界的合作與交流，推動(dòng)雙方經(jīng)貿(mào)信息更加積極有效地互通。

“威爾士和中國(guó)的友誼持續(xù)升溫，我們駐重慶、北京、上海的辦公室也與當(dāng)?shù)卣⒘司o密的友好合作關(guān)系，我們還希望借助中國(guó)中央政府和中國(guó)駐倫敦大使館將這一關(guān)系推上一個(gè)更高的臺(tái)階?！笨稀に股w茨表示，近年來(lái)，威爾士和中國(guó)的貿(mào)易合作日益緊密，中國(guó)投資者也越來(lái)越關(guān)注威爾士的投資環(huán)境。繼英國(guó)脫歐以后，威爾士更加重視和中國(guó)友好關(guān)系。目前，有超過(guò)4500名中國(guó)留學(xué)生在威爾士學(xué)習(xí)，威爾士已落成3所孔子學(xué)院，分別在卡迪夫、班戈、蘭彼得。“威爾士具有開(kāi)放的商務(wù)環(huán)境，在汽車(chē)、旅游、信息產(chǎn)業(yè)等領(lǐng)域有著良好的發(fā)展態(tài)勢(shì)。此外，威爾士的創(chuàng)意產(chǎn)業(yè)僅次于倫敦位居英國(guó)第二?！笨稀に股w茨說(shuō)。

“我認(rèn)為，兩個(gè)城市或地區(qū)之間應(yīng)遵從‘先交朋友，再做生意’的原則。”肯·斯蓋茨認(rèn)為，重慶作為中國(guó)西部地區(qū)唯一的中央直轄市，近年來(lái)經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展令人矚目，重慶和威爾士建立友好關(guān)系11年來(lái)，也讓兩地在文化、社會(huì)和經(jīng)濟(jì)等領(lǐng)域合作交流密切。他特別提出，希望威爾士在汽車(chē)制造、航空航天、數(shù)碼電子、文化創(chuàng)意等領(lǐng)域與重慶開(kāi)展合作項(xiàng)目。

肯·斯蓋茨此行與重慶市商務(wù)委員會(huì)、市文化委員會(huì)等部門(mén)舉行了一系列重要會(huì)議，會(huì)見(jiàn)了有前往英國(guó)、特別是威爾士投資意向的中國(guó)工商界精英。并與市體育局討論確定開(kāi)展重慶與威爾士青少年足球培訓(xùn)項(xiàng)目，為重慶職業(yè)和業(yè)余青年足球運(yùn)動(dòng)員提供威爾士豐富的足球資源，并通過(guò)兩地的足球運(yùn)動(dòng)員互訪(fǎng)，進(jìn)行學(xué)習(xí)交流和培訓(xùn)。

■編輯：熊怡

Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy Visited Chongqing Hoping to Cooperate with Chongqing in Extensive Fields Including Automobile, Aerospace and Cultural Creativity

2017 Wales Week Reception. Photographer/Xiong Yi

“With rapid development, Chongqing has made significant progress in extensive fields including automobile, tourism and information industry in recent years. These fields are also the key development industries of Wales.” Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure in the Welsh Government paid his first visit to Chongqing on February 20, 2017. During his visit, he attended the related activities of 2017 Wales Week in Chongqing. Ken Skates said that Chongqing had established friendly relationship with Wales for 11 years, and he hoped to further promote the cooperation between Wales and Chongqing in the field of trade and economy, enhance mutual understanding and trust, boost the business cooperation and exchanges between both parties and encourage the positive and effective communication about trade and economy.

“The friendship between Wales and China keeps deepening,and the Welsh Government Offices in Chongqing, Beijing and Shanghai have established close relations of friendly cooperation with local government. We hope to drive the relations toward a higher level with the support of the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Embassy in

London.” Ken Skates said that the trade cooperation between Wales and China were getting increasingly close in the recent years. On the one hand, Chinese investors increasingly focused on the investment environment in Wales. On the other hand,after Brexit, Wales paid more attention to the friendly relationship with China. At present, more than 4,500 Chinese overseas students study in Wales, and three Confucius Institutes have been established in Cardiff, Bangor, Lampeter respectively. “Wales has opened business environment and good momentum of development in fields like automobile, tourism, information industry.In addition, the creative industry of Wales comes second in the UK only to London.”

“I hold that the exchanges between two cities or two regions should follow the principle of making friend before doing business.” Ken Skates said that Chongqing, as the only municipality directly under the Central Government in the western region of China, had made great achievements in economic development. Since Chongqing established friendly friendship with Wales 11 years ago, the cooperation and exchanges between two parties have been close in fields including culture, society and economy. He specifically proposed the idea that Wales could carry out cooperation projects with Chongqing in fields including automobile manufacturing,aerospace, digital electronic industry and cultural creativity.

During the visit, Ken Skates held a series of important meetings with departments like Chongqing Municipal Business Committee and Chongqing Municipal Culture Commission and met China’s business elites who had the intention to invest in the UK, especially in Wales. Besides, he discussed with Chongqing Municipal Sports Bureau about developing a youth football training program between Chongqing and Wales. The program would provide rich football resources from Wales for professional and amateur young football players in Chongqing and promote studies, exchanges and trainings by exchanged visits of football players of both regions.

■ Editor: Xiong Yi

Tr. by He Yufang