BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- A spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday that economic and trade cooperation between China and Britain had huge room for development.

"Britain is an important economic and trade partner of China in Europe," spokesman Gao Feng said at a press conference.

In 2017, bilateral trade rose 6.2 percent to 79.03 billion U.S. dollars, with China's exports to Britain up 1.8 percent, while its imports from Britain surged 19.4 percent.

British investment in China reached 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, and China's non-financial investment in Britain reached 1.53 billion U.S. dollars.

"We are now pushing for the creation of a committee of entrepreneurs from China and Britain," Gao said, adding that a trade work group meeting has been held to explore for expanding trade and investment opportunities.

"Both sides will also seek to make new achievements in corporate cooperation in the financial, innovation, telecom, new energy and other fields," Gao said.

He made the remarks in response to a question about possible outcomes from a reported China visit by British Prime Minister Theresa May later this month, which will focus on trade issues.