But Chu, the chairman of First Eastern Investment Group and a prescient booster of Chinese-Arab trade, was always too busy sharing his expertise with other companies.

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"We showed the world what we can do in London 2012 - now is the time to capitalise on this great success and the expertise so many British companies demonstrated in delivering the Games, " said Trade and Investment Minister Lord Green.

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"Regardless of this firm's expertise on purely technical matters unrelated to policy formation, Ecology and Environment's participation in a trade association and lobbying effort in support of authorizing high-volume hydraulic fracturing in New York fundamentally disqualifies the firm and its work" for the DEC environmental impact study, Russ Haven of the New York Public Interest Research Group said in a statement released Wednesday.

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Hence the strategic tie-up that came with China's stake in Barclays, which meant it could tap into the bank's expertise in financial markets and get access to its myriad operations in emerging markets, including a booming commodities trade with Africa.

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