FIRMS have been urged to join the gold rush to the growing economic powerhouse of China.

A soaring population, burgeoning middle class and rising incomes make China a compelling trade destination, bosses have been told.

While larger companies have been working with the Chinese for some time, there is rising interest from smaller concerns, according to Ian Legg, Kent area director of HSBC, a bank founded in the region in 1865 and which became the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank.

"We’ve detected a lot of interest in China," he said. "Historically, large companies have been paying attention to China, now it’s coming down to companies that are not so large."

He insisted that it was not hard doing business with China.

"We have the contacts, we are a global bank, and we have a very strong presence in China," he said during a trade seminar at The Hilton, Maidstone.

More than 150 delegates attended an event designed to help anyone wanting to do business with China, but in particular to promote more exports.

A survey of the audience showed that a considerable number already imported Chinese products, but only a handful exported Kent products.

HSBC’s China experts Daniel Sale and Ericson Ding spoke about the huge opportunities for business in a country with 1.3 billion inhabitants, only a few of them owning consumer goods common in the West.

It was a massive market with soaring demand for commodities that was attracting overseas interest in what was dubbed a gold rush mentality.

Mr Sale described the shift of population from the countryside to the town. Currently, it is a 60-40 split, but this is likely to reverse in the next few years.

The Chinese government is also trying to bridge the gap between urban and rural wages.

China is home to a fifth of the world’s population but only four per cent of the world’s GDP. However, the economy is on course to exceed that of the United States by 2045.

Investment in new buildings, roads and infrastructure is accelerating economic growth, with projects said to cover an area 52 times the size of Singapore.

Aamazingly, 40 per cent of the world’s cranes are in China, it was claimed.

* UK Trade and Investment is leading a mission to China in November. Space is available for 20 firms, including several from Kent.

Details from Kent-based international trade advisor Chris Lowsley on 01892 534432.