By Richard Muir, Deputy Chief Executive, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
Day One: Strengthening Business Links in the Pudong New Area
Our Glasgow Chamber of Commerce trade mission got off to a flyer with an early start and presentations from different directors from the Pudong New area and Lujiazui Group covering key sectors and topics such as trade, investment, higher and further education, logistics, fintech and life sciences, and opportunities for our Scottish businesses. I replied on behalf of Glasgow Chamber and our members and reinforced that Glasgow is Scotland’s economic powerhouse with over 30% of Scotland’s GVA and 30% of Scottish businesses in the region with 92% of exports to China coming from Glasgow and 94% of imports from China arriving via air freight through Glasgow. China is the UK’s 5th largest trading partner accounting for £98.4 billion at the end of 2024.
Each of our businesses introduced themselves and gave a 2 minute elevator pitch before having a series of meetings with the many relevant businesses in the room. The Pudong New Area is a district recognised as one of China’s foremost centres for innovation, international business, and sustainable development.
There was strong recognition of the alignment between Pudong’s development strategy and Glasgow’s priorities in innovation, sustainability, and internationalisation. The session provided valuable insight into the policy landscape and business environment shaping one of China’s fastest-growing economies.
In the afternoon, the delegation visited L Hub, an innovation and entrepreneurship hub with the Shanghai Intercity Co-operation Department and the Shanghai Pudong International Chamber of Commerce. Here, delegates met with a cross-section of Shanghai-based businesses to discuss opportunities for collaboration, joint projects, and investment partnerships. The conversations showcased the city’s dynamic private sector and its increasing openness to international cooperation with businesses including Juneyao Airlines, Nanning Industrial Investment Group, Labtech China and Shanghai Innotek Capital participating. The visit to L Hub underlined Shanghai’s position as a global hub for enterprise, creativity, and digital transformation - values shared by Glasgow’s own business community.
As Glasgow continues to strengthen its international partnerships, today’s meetings have laid a strong foundation for future collaboration with Shanghai, connecting two cities that share a commitment to innovation, openness, and sustainable growth.
Follow our updates this week as the delegation continues its visits across Shanghai and beyond, exploring new opportunities for trade, collaboration and cultural exchange.
This trade mission is supported by Scottish Government & Scottish Chambers of Commerce through the International Trade Partnerships Programme.
Supported by: Shanghai Pudong Foreign Affairs Office, Shanghai Enterprise Confederation, Lujiazui Group, Shanghai Pudong International Chamber of Commerce.
Day Two: Exploring Shanghai’s Commercial Landscape
Day Two of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce delegation’s visit to Shanghai offered an in-depth look at the scale and diversity of Shanghai’s economic landscape. Supported by the Shanghai Commission of Commerce, the delegation spent the day engaging with partners across several of the city’s key commercial districts - Changning, Hongqiao, Jiading, and Baoshan - each a vital contributor to Shanghai’s role as a global centre for trade and innovation.
The morning began with a visit to Shanghai Sunrise Duty Free Group, where delegates learned about the company’s growth strategy and the wider development of China’s duty-free retail sector. Conversations highlighted the rapid evolution of consumer markets in China, particularly the role of e-commerce, digital marketing, and cross-border retail in shaping future opportunities for international brands. Sunrise already work with many famous Scottish brands particularly in food and beverage and FMCG and they distribute 80,000 packs per day for 500 global brands with a 100,000 SKU’s.
Throughout the afternoon, the delegation continued its visits across Shanghai’s districts, meeting with local enterprises, industry associations, and development zone representatives. These discussions provided valuable insight into how different parts of the city are fostering innovation and supporting international cooperation.
From advanced manufacturing in Jiading to technology clusters in Songjiang and logistics hubs in Hongqiao, the delegation experienced first-hand the scale of Shanghai’s economic ambition and the opportunities this presents for partnership with Glasgow businesses. Many fruitful 1:1 meetings were held and I spent time in a meeting hall with Orrin from Transport Services Europe, Andrew from Emit Smart and Andrew from Prioto and real progress was made in some of the meetings with potential suppliers, distributors and clients.
We were special guests at an Evening Reception with the Vice Mayor of Beijing through our MOU with the Chaoyang District in Beijing bringing together business and government representatives from across China and overseas. The reception provided a valuable opportunity to exchange perspectives on trade policy, and city partnerships and I had some time to speak to the Vice Mayor and exchange gifts on behalf of the Chamber and the City of Glasgow.
As the second day came to a close, the delegation reflected on the energy and diversity of Shanghai’s business ecosystem. Glasgow’s business community has much to gain from continued engagement with China’s commercial hubs.
This trade mission is supported by Scottish Government & Scottish Chambers of Commerce through the International Trade Partnerships Programme.
Venues: Changning, Songjiang, Hongqiao, Jiading, Baoshan.
Days Three and Four: China International Import Expo (CIIE)
Day three of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce delegation’s visit marked an important milestone - participation in the China International Import Expo (CIIE), one of the world’s largest and most influential import focused trade events. The day began with the official opening ceremony and various meetings focusing on the role of financial services in supporting international trade and the opportunities for collaboration with businesses across Glasgow and Scotland.
Later in the morning, I and some of our delegation took part in an interview with China Radio International (CRI), part of China Media Group. This provided a valuable platform to discuss Glasgow’s strengths as an international business city, its leadership in engineering, manufacturing, sustainability, and its long-standing commitment to global partnerships.
Through such media engagement the Chamber continues to raise Glasgow’s international profile, promoting our businesses and investment potential to a global audience. I was asked about what drives our commitment to returning to CIIE and what has changed in the last few years as well as to share insight on our visiting businesses and what they hope to achieve from the visit. I was asked to comment on my thoughts of China continuing to host CIIE and what it means for Scotland and UK as important platform for trade and for my thoughts on free trade and Glasgow Chamber’s continued efforts since we formed in 1783 to encourage reductions in trade barriers and how this continues to this day.
Following the media session, delegates toured the expansive CIIE exhibition halls, meeting companies and visiting trade booths that represent a wide cross-section of international business and commerce. Highlights included a visit to Orient Enterprise’s Whisky booth which continues to stock many of our smaller and early stage Scottish brands from previous visits to CIIE.
I then had the honour of being a guest at the opening of The Macallan 360 Experience at CIIE and working with the excellent Edrington team in China including Maggie Chan and Carol Xu. Maggie, the Managing Director of Edrington, China kicked off with a short speech on The Macallan 360 Experience and for the ribbon cutting and toasting, I was accompanied by Rachel Walter's, Operation Director of The Macallan Estate, and Mr. Sohail Shaikh, His Majesty’s Deputy Trade Commissioner, British Consulate-General Shanghai. It was a great event and a pleasure to be working with one of our Partner members overseas with such an iconic Scottish brand in such a prestigious session. I know that our delegates enjoyed the networking too and it was good to see Stuart Dunn of British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai and other familiar faces at the event..
All of these engagements demonstrated the enduring strength of Scotland’s export reputation - particularly in premium food and drink - and the ongoing appetite within the lucrative Chinese market for high-quality, authentic products with heritage and provenance.
The final day of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce’s visit to CIIE 2025 placed a strong focus on the rapidly growing world of e-commerce and digital innovation. The morning began at the CIIE E-Commerce Conference hosted at the Ludi Hotel in Hongqiao District, supported by the Shanghai Commission of Commerce. Delegates joined local business leaders and policymakers and other overseas businesses to meet and discuss the latest trends in online retail, digital logistics, and the technologies reshaping global supply chains.
The session provided valuable insights into how Shanghai and China are leveraging their digital infrastructure and entrepreneurial culture to become one of the global leaders in e-commerce - lessons that resonate strongly with Glasgow’s own ambitions for digital growth and innovation. We heard how the Waigaoqiao Global Hub is a key platform for predominantly ‘Silk Road’ E-commerce and is working with 34 regional centres and has added a 6+ 365 day physical permanent exhibition and trading model leveraging FTZ policy advantages and has turned exhibition items from CIIE into commodities and exhibitors into investors.
It was particularly pleasing to hear from Madam Zhou, our principal contact at the Shanghai Commission of Commerce on how much she valued Glasgow’s attendance and our participation at CIIE and the China (Shanghai) International Tech Fair in June and she stressed that she was keen to provide further support for our visiting Scottish businesses in the future.
In the afternoon some of our the delegation returned to CIIE for a series of targeted meetings with key partners, including Shanghai Rishang Tax Free Group, which operates one of the city’s major airport retail operations. These discussions offered an opportunity to explore collaboration in duty-free retail, cross-border trade, and consumer engagement, particularly within the growing Chinese market for premium and sustainable products.
As the visit drew to a close, the delegation reflected on a positive and successful programme of meetings, visits, and exchanges across Shanghai and with partners in Beijing. Over four days, the group has engaged with senior government officials, major state-owned enterprises, innovative private sector leaders, and international media - building connections that will help drive future collaboration between Glasgow and China. The CIIE has once again proved a valuable platform for connecting Glasgow businesses to international networks and for showcasing Scotland’s strengths in high-quality goods, cleantech innovation, education, food and drink and responsible business practices. We are looking forward to following up with all of our businesses in the coming weeks on valuable outcomes which might result in new contracts, new distributors, fresh partnerships, purchasing of hardware and technical equipment, providing consistent quality assured products and a fundamentally better understanding of the Chinese market and opportunities.
This extraordinary week again highlighted the strong potential for growth of Scottish business and brands and reaffirmed Glasgow’s role as a forward-looking, leading internationally connected city - open to partnership, innovation, and shared success. Once again strength of the ‘home team’ and camaraderie of our Glasgow delegates was impressive and they deserve credit for venturing into a new market and will surely reap the business rewards in the near future.
Glasgow Chamber extends its sincere thanks to all of our visiting delegates who devoted a week of their time to be with us and the valuable access provided by all of our partners, hosts, and supporters who helped make this visit a success and also to Xiang Li and John Wilson our representatives and experts in China.
The trade mission was supported by Scottish Government and Scottish Chambers of Commerce through the International Trade Partnerships programme.
