Businesses interested in opening up export markets in China are to get the inside track at an event in the University of Ulster's Magee campus on the cultural differences that could determine if they succeed.

The University's Office of Innovation and the Confucius Institute of the University of Ulster have teamed up with Londonderry Chamber of Commerce for a‘Doing Business with China’ event in the Great Hall on the Magee campus at 1.30pm on Tuesday, March 19.

The event, which will include contributions from speakers currently based in China, will not only focus on improving cultural awareness but on the key legal and business differences between Europe and China.Among the keynote speakers will be Philip Gilliland,President of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, Mark Ennis,Executive Chairman of energy utility company SSE (Ireland)andIan Foster, Managing Director of Urban Design InternationalCo. Ltd.

Eddie Friel, Head of Business Development at Ulster’s Office of Innovation, said: “China is becoming increasingly important in the business world, regardless of the industry or sector.

"Local companies are always looking to develop their export markets and China, given its position as the world’s most populous nation, provides a massive opportunity.

“Participants at this event will hear from speakers who have significant experience of issues that might confront local businesses when breaking into new markets and they will be given excellent guidance on how they can overcome such challenges.”

The Confucius Institute at the University of Ulster is Northern Ireland's only Confucius Institute and is designed to promote greater cultural understanding of China through the teaching of Mandarin in universities, schools and companies as well as through cultural and business events and courses.Ulster's partneruniversity in the Confucius Institute is Zhejiang University of Media and Communication in south east China.

The institute, whose headquarters is based in Coleraine but whose activities stretch across Northern Ireland, was officially launched at a spectacular ceremony in Jordanstown last year attended by China's most senior woman politician Madam Liu Yandong, First Minister Peter Robinson, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry and OFMDFM junior minister Jonathan Bell and then OFMDFM junior minister Martina Anderson.

Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, Dean of the Faculty of the Arts which houses the Confucius Institute, said: “We hope this event will give businesses a taste of what China has to offer and help them develop an appetite for more knowledge on working with China.

“The Confucius Institute at the University of Ulster (CIUU) provides a valuable resource that our education system, businesses, government, arts and cultural organisations can tap into as they forge relationships with their counterparts in China.

“CIUU is part of a network of 370 Confucius Institutes at leading universities across the world – 20 of which are in the UK and two in the Republic of Ireland."

For further information or to register for this free event please emailknowledgeclub@ulster.ac.ukor telephone028 7167 5236.