EVER since the UK voted to leave the EU in June, our future relationship with Europe and the rest of the world has captured global attention.

Our new government knew that they had to make a quick and clear statement to reassure our many international partners, and they have done just that ­­­— vowing to “forge a new role” for Britain in the world by building global links and developing our world-leading financial services sector.

We in the City of London echo this sentiment. We look forward to working with the government and all other institutions across the country in the aftermath of the referendum, limiting business uncertainty and ensuring continued growth in trade and investment. Further strengthening our partnership with key overseas markets, such as China, is vital in this endeavour.

As the Lord Mayor of the City of London, and ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services industry, I have come to China to reassure key government officials and business leaders that post-Brexit Britain remains an outward-looking country that is entirely open for business. I will also reiterate our commitment to strengthening our long-standing links while exploring new and innovative ways to work together.

As the financial and commercial heart of both Britain and Europe, the City of London is a natural partner for Chinese investment and businesses.

Our market infrastructure has developed over centuries and now serves more than 16,000 companies based in the Square Mile. These businesses include China’s five biggest state-owned banks, major Chinese law firms and other financial institutions.

On top of promoting the UK’s financial and professional services worldwide, the City also champions exciting and innovative areas of business that have enormous potential.

That’s why we have closely watched the astonishing economic progress that China has made, and back the development and opening up of China’s financial services sector under the economic “new normal.” This will create welcome opportunities for both Chinese and global market participants.

The UK cooperates closely with China on a huge variety of issues, not least yuan internationalization, which has been and continues to be an important area of our partnership. It is encouraging to see RMB become one of the most-used world payment currencies — just one of many indicators that the offshore yuan market as a whole is growing steadily.

The process of yuan internationalization has many benefits. It is a tool for enabling trade and investment in key areas such as infrastructure financing, and it builds market efficiency by equipping firms with the ability to operate in an increasingly interconnected and multicurrency system.

Inclusion of the renminbi in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights basket and the launch of a cross-border yuan payments system (CIPS) — both of which happened in the past year — have helped to build confidence in the long term and will support the steady trend towards wider international yuan usage.

Offshore yuan market

London is proud to play an integral role in this process. Its offshore yuan market had persistent strong growth in recent years and is now the world’s second largest offshore center for yuan trading after Hong Kong.

It has risen to this position because of its effective regulatory environment, wide pool of talent, favorable timezone and proven market infrastructure, all of which are vital attributes not only for yuan hubs but also for all other types of international business.

The growth of London’s offshore yuan market is also due to the unwavering commitment of both the UK and China to build stronger bilateral ties and encourage closer cooperation.

Signing a currency swap line, appointing yuan clearing banks and issuing sovereign yuan bonds: these policy announcements, as well as market-led practical steps, enable the development of yuan products and services to better serve customer demand.

We believe that opportunities will continue to emerge as a result of policy changes and new developments in China, on top of the increasing maturity of both the offshore and onshore markets. Moreover, innovative technology plays a key role in the further development of global payments systems, and London is well-placed to encourage the adoption of more effective and efficient mechanisms to aid the growth of yuan within a multi-currency system.

An emerging area in our country’s cooperation is green finance. China is actively looking for green financial innovation to help finance its low carbon transition, and aims to realize green growth throughout its 13th five year period. As with so many areas, the UK can help. Two examples of existing co-operation include the joint development of innovative green financing solutions and the listing of yet more green yuan-denominated products here in London. This collaborative approach will continue to contribute towards meeting China’s green ambitions. They also demonstrate enviable global leadership from our two nations in the area of sustainability.

China’s G20 presidency provides another historic opportunity to put environmental concerns and global economic growth at the top of political, regulatory, and news agendas worldwide. Bringing these issues into the limelight will illustrate not only China’s increasing influence on the world stage, but also their determination to use that influence as a force for good.

The UK and China co-chair the G20’s Green Finance Study Group. Its work is crucial to the globalization of green markets and UK financial experts, including members of the City of London’s Green Finance Initiative, are keen to further strengthen this partnership over the coming years. By working with China to support its growth initiatives, like the “One Belt One Road” initiative and the self-labelled “lean, clean and green” AIIB, for example, the UK and China can jointly develop green financial markets worldwide, realizing one of the financial industry’s best prospects for development and a new source of global growth.

China as a partner

The backdrop to this very specific co-operation is China’s continuing importance as a trade and investment partner to the UK. China accounted for 7 percent of UK imports in 2014, compared with just 3.3 percent in 2004. China’s outbound foreign direct investment (ODI) to the UK has grown by 58 percent per year over the past decade, which further cements the UK’s role as a top destination for ODI, and one of the best countries for doing business.

I would like to take the opportunity during my visit to welcome further expansion and investment from Chinese businesses into not only London, but also the Northern Powerhouse and the Midlands Engine, which have massive growth potential. We look forward to seeing more deals like the one billion pound (US$1.3 billion) 60-year Chinese investment into Sheffield that demonstrates mutual commitment and the realization of real business goals.

Both the UK and China are committed to carrying forward our bilateral relations into a new phase, and it is essential that the close ties already established are strengthened.

I agree with what President Xi Jinping said in the City of London during the state visit last October, that our two nations should “spur China-Europe cooperation with the good momentum of China-UK cooperation, and promote common development and prosperity of Asia and Europe.”

I would also like to reiterate that the UK wants to remain China’s number one partner in the West and a gateway to Europe. We are ready to commit to further education, supporting innovation and to sharing lessons learned on wider financial sector reform, for the mutual benefit of both our countries.

I look forward to engaging with new and established partners in China during my visit.

Jeffrey Mountevans is the Lord Mayor of the City of London.