JCB Chairman Lord Bamford last night met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at an event designed to promote trade growth for British companies.

The reception for British businesses was staged at the Natural History Museum in London, where guests included Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and HRH The Duke of York. JCB opened its Chinese manufacturing plant in Pudong, near Shanghai in 2006 to serve the country's massive construction equipment market. Currently around 250,000 construction machines are sold there every year by scores of different manufacturers.

Lord Bamford, who was accompanied to the event by his son, JCB Director Jo Bamford, said: "The Chinese Premier was genuinely interested in JCB's business and how JCB is performing in China.

"It was an excellent event and an ideal opportunity to promote the JCB business and brand to a market which will become increasingly important to JCB's growth in the future.

"The Chinese construction equipment market is 10 times the size of that in the UK so there is a huge opportunity in China for businesses like ours."

JCB's Chinese plant covers an area of 86,000m² and manufactures heavy tracked excavators and midi excavators. JCB sells its machines in the Chinese market through a network of 27 dealers.

Last night's banquet was organised by the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC), the leading organisation helping UK companies grown and develop their business in China.