Representatives from the Federation of Chinese Association (FCA) Manchester were welcomed to Douglas town hall by His Worship the Mayor, Councillor Stan Cain JP on Wednesday April 1st.

His Worship with (seated) Xia Shi and Aibing Ge. Standing Councillors David Ashford, Sara Hackman and Jon Joughin with Calvin Liu

Mr Aibing Ge, chairman, international strategy director Mr Calvin Liu and personal assistant Xia Shi of IDOL HST (Health, Science and Technology) Ltd, a company based in Nanjing, Shanghai looking to invest in distributing eco-friendly British mother and baby products in China, were visiting the Island to learn about Manx business and company registration practices, with a view to establishing an offshore operation.

Presenting Aibing Ge with a shield bearing the Borough of Douglas crest

Welcoming the visitors His Worship said how the Isle of Man government had started to develop links with China, which had led to a number of delegations ‘in each direction’. He added: ‘I hope that this visit will help to further those links and that there will be mutual benefit gained from our greater understanding of each other’s cultures.’

Presenting Calvin Liu with a gift of cufflinks bearing the borough crest

In his reply, Mr Ge, through Mr Liu who is also vice-president of the UK Young Chinese Entrepreneurs Association and acted as translator, referred to the warmth of welcome his party had received and how the FCA, a group of some 38,000 companies, was looking to expand its business links in the West and encourage more trade delegations to come to the British Isles. He spoke of the possibility of establishing a twinning agreement between Nanjing and Douglas, said he would aim to promote the Isle of Man at every opportunity and extended an open invitation to his Manx hosts to visit Shanghai.