Helping British business succeed internationally, and strengthening the UK’s relationships across the world, is something I consider a personal mission, not just a professional obligation.

In late June 2024, I travelled to London for my second consecutive BritCham Whitehall Doorknock, the third in the series since 2019, as part of a delegation of business leaders and Chamber representatives from Beijing, South China, and across the network. Built around the launch of our sixth annual Position Paper, it was a week that felt genuinely historic for one very specific reason: we were there during a UK general election campaign, with the Civil Service in purdah and a change of government days away.

The timing made every conversation sharper, more forward-looking, and more consequential.

The Delegation

The 2024 delegation included BritCham China Chair Julian Fisher, Chair Emeriti Julian MacCormac and St. John Moore, BritCham Managing Director Rachel Tsang, Policy Manager Harry Bell, and Ting Ting Yang from Diageo Global. I joined as Vice-Chair of BritCham Guangdong (now BritCham South China) and regional representative for South China, with my focus areas including supply chain management, manufacturing, SMEs, entrepreneurship, and intellectual property.

A Week Shaped by an Election

The political backdrop gave the week an unusual energy. With every department preparing “day one” files for whichever party came to power on 5 July, our job was clear: get the voice of British business in China into those files before they were sealed. The Position Paper, 50 positions across 9 industry chapters, from professional services and financial services to energy, healthcare, and education, was our primary tool for doing exactly that.

We opened the week at the Chinese Embassy, meeting Ambassador H.E. Zheng Zeguang for our now-annual engagement. Discussions covered mutual opportunities for UK and Chinese businesses, China’s economic priorities, the development of the EV sector, and the thorny issue of overcapacity. The Ambassador acknowledged the Chamber’s role as an independent voice and genuine on-the-ground resource, something that never gets old to hear, and we got our now annual photo together.

From there it was straight to HM Treasury in Whitehall, an important meeting given Rachel Reeves’ increasingly proactive stance on China engagement and the growing expectation that Treasury would play a stronger role in bilateral relations under any incoming government. This was one of the first times the Chamber had engaged directly with the Treasury team at this level, and it was a highly productive introduction.

Into the Rooms That Matter

Tuesday brought the Great Britain-China Centre, an arms-length FCDO body responsible for building China capability across the UK Civil Service, where we discussed how the Chamber can support knowledge-sharing and encourage ongoing visits between UK and Chinese leaders. Then a closed-door business roundtable at Diageo’s impressive central London offices, bringing together HQ representatives from a range of BritCham member companies to hear our Position Paper findings and discuss the biggest issues hampering UK-China trade.

Wednesday was one of the standout days. In the morning, we had a wide-ranging conversation with Professor Kerry Brown and his team at the Lau China Institute at King’s College London, always a stimulating discussion that bridges the academic and the practical. In the afternoon we met the FCDO China team at the Foreign Office on King Charles Street, conveying member concerns directly to government. And in the evening, we co-hosted the first ever UK-China Summer Conference, over 200 attendees joined us and co-hosts Beijing to Britain, the IoD China Group and Sino Auto Insights, for three expert panels on UK-China relations and our “Briefing for Britain” presentation. A memorable evening hosted by former BritCham China MD Steve Lynch.

Thursday brought back-to-back meetings at the Old Admiralty Building on Whitehall with the DBT China and Hong Kong Policy Team, one of the most China-expert units in government, followed by a meeting at the UKNCC at the Royal Air Force Club on Piccadilly, where I serve on the Advisory Board. And Friday closed things out with Cathryn Law, Director of the Bilateral Trade Directorate at DBT, followed by the now-traditional luncheon with the China Chamber of Commerce UK at the Bank of China, where CCCUK Chairman Fang Wenjian presented findings from their Annual Survey on Chinese Enterprises in the UK. The parallels with our own Sentiment Survey were striking: a “wait and see” attitude among Chinese businesses in the UK mirrored almost exactly what British businesses were feeling in China.

The Policy Moment

What made 2024 different from 2023 was the sheer weight of what was about to change. Every meeting carried an undertone of transition – What will Labour do on China? Will there be a China Audit? How will Treasury engage? Will business have a seat at the table?

Our core ask throughout the week was consistent and simple: whatever the incoming government does on China, make sure British business is consulted. Don’t shape a China strategy in Whitehall without hearing from the people operating on the ground in China every single day. The Chamber is uniquely placed to provide that perspective, and we said so in every room.

As it turned out, Labour won a landslide majority five days after we left London. The China Audit we had been calling for came. The Economic and Financial Dialogue followed. And the 2025 Doorknock, held just twelve months later, showed just how much had changed.

That continuity of engagement matters. It is what makes the Doorknock more than an annual trip. It is what makes it a genuine relationship.

Beyond the advocacy and the policy papers, there is something deeper that brings me back to this every year: a genuine belief that British business abroad can be a force for good in the world, and that helping it succeed, here in China, and in the rooms where it matters in London, is one of the most meaningful things I can do with my time and my platform.

And after the Doorknock was complete, I stuck with my

🔗 BritCham China — Position Paper 2024 🔗 BritCham South China 🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn

Mark Clayton FCMA CGMA CPA KOR — Group CFO, C2W Group | Chairman, BritCham South China | Regional Representative, BritCham China Doorknock Delegation