The temperature was well below freezing as the snowflakes fell in the Shandong province of North-Eastern China this week – more than 5,000 miles from industrial Coventry.

But there was a genuine warmth to the atmosphere as Dongying prepared to play host to a historic factory opening which marks the latest milestone in UK-Chinese trade relations.

The Chinese are already a significant investor in the West Midlands industrial and commercial landscape – from MG Motor UK to Birmingham City and House of Fraser.

The opening of the £300 million Covpress China factory underpins previous Chinese investments, and confirms that the Far East superpower has the potential to underwrite large parts of the West Midlands and UK economy for decades to come.

The facts speak for themselves. The joint venture between industrial powerhouse Shandong Yongtai and Telford-based tyre firm Treadsetters cleared the path for a £30 million buyout of body panel suppliers Covpress 18 months ago, securing the future of a factory which began life in 1890 as the Coventry Radiator and Presswork Company.

That future has never looked so bright. The Chinese are rolling out the red carpet in lavish style out here in the last few weeks of the Year of the Horse, and confidently speak of a new facility which will create 5,000 jobs in due course to become the “best press shop in the world.”

Lord Whitby, the man who played a key role in the ultimately successful Chinese takeover of Longbridge all those years ago, confounding the sceptics who had written off the MG Rover deal as a mere lift and operation, is in his element, enjoying the generous Chinese hospitality as the flags and banners prepare to light up the grey Shandong wintry landscape.

Broadcasting legend Gary Newbon is here too as ambassador for the Covpress joint venture, bringing a genuine flavour of the West Midlands to this most oriental of locations.

Lord Whitby describes Covpress China as a project which could replicate the rebirth of Longbridge.

His Lordship was vindicated with the eventual rise of MG Motor UK. Under further Chinese – UK leadership, the portents are equally promising for the future of a company which has been a fixture on the West Midlands industrial landscape for 125 years.