Theresa May, or Aunty May, as the Chinese call her, arrived in Beijing 1 February in order to announce a new package of British-Chinese cultural cooperation, aimed at enhancing the cultural exchange and cooperation between the two countries.
The British Council notes that with the diversification of China’s economy and the transformation of China from a highly industrialised economy to a knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy, the cultural and creative industries are expected to account for 5 percent of China’s GDP by 2020.
From Shakespeare to Sherlock, from fashion to football, Britain’s soft power has had a very significant impact in China. In a 2016 survey conducted by the British Council for Culture and Education, 82 percent of Chinese respondents considered Britain very attractive compared to any other G-20 country.
The U.K. Prime Minister said, “These agreements underscore the strength of the creative industries in the UK and will bring hundreds of millions of pounds of investment to the UK to create major opportunities for the UK…by sharing our history and culture, we will also deepen the strong relations between the two peoples”.
Aunty May’s visit to Shanghai today, 2 February, coincides with an accident in the centre of the city involving a burning minivan that ploughed into a crowd of people, according to a report released by Yahoo Australia.
The report states 18 people were injured “three of them seriously”. Some bystanders reportedly tried to break into the burning car in order to pull out the six people stuck inside, Yahoo wrote citing The Paper. Police have not said whether the incident was intentional or not.
Yahoo claims an initial report by The Paper was after the fact taken down and replaced with a Shanghai City statement.
