Richard C.D. Fleming, President and CEO of St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA), attended the 48 Group Club Chinese New Year Dinner honoring Chinese and UK business leaders last Tuesday in conjunction with meetings in the U.K. with RCGA partners there on the business-to-business aspects of the "Big Idea" St. Louis China Project.
Chaired by London Export CEO Stephen Perry, the 48 Group is an independent business network committed to promoting positive relations with China. The Club’s history traces back to 1953 when a group of British business leaders, led by Stephen’s father, Jack Perry, Sr., founder of the Club, and 15 other representatives from 48 British companies, embarked on an "Icebreaking Mission" to China. Known as "Icebreakers," they were the first group of Westerners to do business with the newly-born People’s Republic of China.
Following the establishment of the 48 Group Club in the 1950s, the annual "Icebreakers" Chinese New Year Dinner began as a small gathering in a London Chinese restaurant to salute businesses and investors in Sino-British trade, and has grown today into a sold-out annual black tie dinner for 500 of the "who's who" of British and Chinese CEOs and Members of Parliament and other governmental leaders to celebrate the Chinese New Year and to salute business success in the two countries.
With the "Big Idea" in St. Louis and the Midwest, and the common thread of the leadership of Stephen Perry - the business-to-business aspect of the St. Louis "Big Idea" might well benefit from a similar celebration to honor progress in trade and investment between the Midwest and China.
By way of background, during his Presidential visit to the U.K. back in November 2005, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Stephen Perry, Senior Fellow of the 48 Group Club Lord Heseltine, and other Committee members at Buckingham Palace. President Hu warmly welcomed the 48 Group Club and saluted the Icebreakers as visionary people who were brave in difficult times over 50 years ago. He encouraged the Club to continue its work in developing positive business relations between the U.K. and China. In his capacity as Chairman of the 48 Group and as CEO of London Export, Perry regularly meets Chinese leaders and was one of the first people to greet the Chinese Premier on his 2006 visit to the UK.
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