A trade visit to China led by a West Midlands-based expert on the Far East is to go ahead next month despite the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province.

Mark Eaton, of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, is leading 14 companies and organisations from across the region to Beijing and Shandong. The trip departs on June 16. The idea is to build on already strong links between the West Midlands and those areas of China.

Mr Eaton said the Chamber had considered cancelling the trip due to the earthquake but in the end had decided to go ahead.
“The eyes of the world have been on China because of the earthquake,” he said.

“It’s an absolute tragedy and I have been speaking to contacts out in China who live thousands of miles from the epicentre but still felt the quake.

“It’s like an earthquake happening in Russia and the UK feeling a tremor – that’s just how powerful it was.” Mr Eaton said footage of the disaster had helped to highlight just how much the country had changed.

“I’ve been involved with China for two decades and I think footage coming out almost straight after the earthquake hit would not have happened ten years ago,” he said. “We’ve had one or two calls asking whether the trade mission will still happen and we’ve double checked with our contacts out there who really want to go ahead.”

Anyone wanting further information on the trip should contact Mark Eaton at the Chamber on 024 7665 4321.