China is located in East Asia, on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean, China has a land area of about 9.6 million sq km, and is the third-largest country in the world, next to Russia and Canada.

China is one of the world's most ancient civilizations, has a recorded history of over 5000 years. In Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.), Ying Zheng, called himself Shi Huang Di (First Emperor) and historically known as Qin Shi Huang (First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty), ended the rivalry among the independent principalities in the Warring States Period and established the first centralized, unified, multi-ethnic state. During his reign, Qin Shi Huang constructed the world-renowned Great Wall and the life-size terracotta horses and armored warriors excavated from sites near the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang are known as the eighth wonder of the world, attracting swarms of Chinese and foreign visitors every day.

With her long history and vast land with various ancient architectural structures and historical sites, China attract a large number of tourists from all countries in the world,

Business and trade cooperation between China and the UK has developed encouragingly in recent years. With massive potential for further cooperation between two countries, an even greater prospect is now beginning to emerge.

The UK is currently China's second largest trading partner and the largest in China among the EU countries. The latest Chinese Customer statistics show that bilateral trade between China and the UK was US$ 10.3 billions in 2001, an increase of 4.1% on previous year. The statistics also show that UK companies had invested in a total 3072 projects in China by the end of 2001, and contractual and realized investment figures stood at US$18.5 billion and nearly US$10 billion respectively.

Many events have illustrated that China is becoming an increasingly vital, visible and integral member of the global community; hosting the Asia Pacific Co-operation summit in Shanghai and 2008 Olympics in Beijing and accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that will further strengthen the ability to maintain sturdy growth of her economy and therefore enable China to offer various business opportunities for British developers, investors and technology owners doing business in the country.