One of Britain's top business leaders has called for transport in the north of England to get more investment after the Northern rail crisis as the International Business Festival kicked off in Liverpool.

CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn was the first key speaker at a day that also saw a high-powered Chinese delegation take to the stage and debates on what the future of work might be .

And it was also revealed that Liverpool would host a major United Nations event later this year.

Thousands of visitors from dozens of countries will be coming to Liverpool over the three-week festival, which organisers hope will help generate hundreds of millions of pounds in deals.

Speaking on the main Futures stage, Ms Fairbairn mentioned the recent Northern Rail chaos , which has seen dozens of daily cancellations along with delays and overcrowding, and said if the UK was to be a "competitive nation globally" then the current transport infrastructure was just not good enough.

CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn at the International Business Festival in Liverpool

She said: "The citizens of the North are not connected. I had a fine journey from London to here today, two hours and ten minutes. But I know if I needed to get across to Leeds (from Liverpool) that would be a lot more challenging."

Ms Fairbairn endorsed Heathrow's new runway as the best option for the UK. But she said that should not come at the expense of funding infrastructure in the North .

She said: "The idea that it's either/or, when in China they're building seven airports this year - we do either/or at our peril.

"We need to invest in Heathrow because it serves the whole UK. But we need to find a way to do both."

Donald Trump

On a day when US President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, Ms Fairbairn took aim at Trump's trade policies.

The President has proposed tariffs on steel and has even suggested imposing tariffs on Canadian cars.

Ms Fairbairn said his move towards tariffs was "misguided and I would even call it dangerous."

And she added: "It threatens prosperity here in the US and around the world."

She said a trade war and tariffs would help no-one.

Later in the day, top officials from Shanghai took to the main stage to launch the Amazing Shanghai project to promote Shanghai as a place to do business.

Xu Kunlin, vice-mayor of Shanghai, said 10 delegations from Shanghai were attending the festival - and he talked about what the cities have in common ahead of the 20th anniversary next year of their "sister city" relationship.

Liverpool's deputy mayor Gary Millar spoke about Liverpool's Chinese community and our connections to Shanghai. He said: "Our Shanghai friends feel at home in Liverpool and our Liverpool friends feel at home in Shanghai."

And Cllr Millar also revealed that Liverpool would on October 31 host the 2018 World Cities Day. The event is organised by the UN's Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), alongside the Shanghai People’s Government and Liverpool council.

UN-Habitat executive director, Ms Maimunah Mohd Sharif, said in a statement later: “Liverpool is a great example of urban transformation.

"The city, which has faced significant challenges in the past, has transformed itself through regeneration and sustainable urban development.

"It is a great example of a truly resilient city and this is a fantastic opportunity for Liverpool to demonstrate its success to the world.”

As well as the speeches on the main stage, several events were held at the smaller Knowledge Hub stage to encourage people to trade overseas. And delegations from all over the globe, including Mongolia, could be seen in and around the venue.

People at work at the International Business Festival in Liverpool, June 12, 2018

Tomorrow at the IFB

Wednesday, July 13 is International Urbanisation and Cities Day at the International Business Festival - with keynote speakers including Lord Heseltine and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

  • The day will begin with a debate on how devolution is providing opportunities for business in their areas. Liverpool city region metro mayor Steve Rotheram will speak alongside Manchester metro mayor Andy Burnham, West Midlands metro mayor Andy Street, West of England Mayor Tim Bowles and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen.
  • At 11.15 PM, former 'Minister for Merseyside' Lord Heseltine will talk about how governments can help cities grow. That will be followed by a debate on his words, led by Prof Michael Parkinson of the University of Liverpool and including Siemens chief executive Juergen Maier.
  • At 4pm, Mayor Rotheram will take to the stage with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan for a dicussion on the challenges of running a 21st century city.
  • The final event on the main Futures stage will be a conversation between Dr Beatriz Garcia, director of the Institute of Cultural Capital at the University of Liverpool, and Prof Parkinson.
  • There will also be presentations all day long at the Knowledge Hub on doing business internationally, while stands at the festival are open al day long.
  • The IFB's main venue, the Exhibition Centre Liverpool, is also hosting a series of other business events during the festival. Today will see the second day of the World Forum for Foreign Direct Investment and the first day of the Global Smart City Summit. The venue will also hold the Future of Real Estate Summit.