2016 Chinese New Year VIP Reception in the House of Lords
On 8 February 2016, a VIP reception attended by over 200 guests was held in the House of Lords to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The event was opened with a welcome speech from the event host, Lord Wei of Shoreditch. This was then followed by further speeches from Minister Councilor Shen Yang from the Education Section of the Chinese Embassy; Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, Group Head of Government Affairs, HSBC; Prof. Paul Kelly, LSE Pro-Director and CIBL UK Director Nick Byrne. These honored speakers all gave their best wishes for the New Year of the Sheep to the guests and their inspiring speeches welcomed a bright future of further cooperation between Britain and China in economic and cultural aspects. Great emphasis was put on the progress of education, especially international exchanges, made by both sides. The Confucius Institute of Business London was highly praised for its hard work to promote the friendship and cultural exchange between Britain and China.