Sustainable building and environmental technologies will be in the spotlight at the next Bristol and West of England China Bureau ‘pow wow’, held in conjunction with Low Carbon South West.
Pow wow’s are popular business networking events that allow directors from across the region to meet exporters who are already dealing with the vast and largely untapped Chinese market. 
Guest speakers from China and the UK will offer fresh insights into sustainable development around the Pearl River Delta region of Southern China – home to Bristol’s sister city Guangzhou.
A more local, West of England perspective will come from Bristol-headquartered national architecture firm Stride Treglown.
The pow wow will be held at the Future Economy Centre in Temple Way on September 29. The meeting will be sponsored by Hewlett Rand – specialists in digital learning and training strategies – and hosted at Desklodge, which runs the centre as part of its co-working space at 1 Temple Way.
The pow wows are coordinated by Bristol and West of England director of business initiatives China Bureau Richard Lowe, who is also a director of Hewlett Rand.
Richard, pictured, said: “I’ve recently secured projects in Hong Kong after a couple of years of developing our export strategy and I firmly believe the South West can significantly increase its export in the coming years.
“I’m developing our pow wows to reach out to businesses in sectors where we know there is genuine demand to help accelerate trade flows. Becoming a member of the China Bureau is an important step in starting your China export journey and to learn from others already winning opportunities.”
Bureau CEO Dianne Francombe added: “We’re thrilled that our September pow wow will be a joint event with Low Carbon South West – supporting and promoting the development of environmental technologies and services in Bristol, Bath and South and West England.
“Once again we are promoting the business opportunities available to engage with China.
“We are looking forward to visiting the Future Economy Centre and the newly refurbished conference room facility where guests will have the opportunity to meet like-minded colleagues and gain a better understanding of how we are building closer links with the fast developing businesses in China – especially in our twin city Guangzhou.”
The event kicks off at 5.30pm and includes an optional tour of The Future Economy Centre, networking, drinks and canapes followed by talks on sustainable building in South West England & Pearl River Delta.
Dianne added: “These networking events are very popular so we advise booking your place early. They provide a great opportunity to discover more about exporting to both the Hong Kong and China market, to share experiences with exporters over drinks and nibbles with fellow China enthusiasts.”
This event is free to members of the China Bureau and Low Carbon South West. Each member is entitled to bring one free guest.
The Christmas pow wow will be themed – not surprisingly – around food and beverage. It will be held on December 1.
Bristol and West of England China Bureau is celebrating its 15th anniversary promoting cultural, academic and business exchange between Bristol and the West Country and China supported by members, sponsors and Bristol City Council.
For more information visit www.chinabureau.co.uk
