Teresa May’s recent three-day trade mission to China resulted in deals worth more than 9.3 billion pounds, which will create over 2,500 jobs across the UK. Trade between Britain and China last year was estimated to be worth £60 billion and Chinese Ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaming, has commented that more opportunities will emerge as a post-Brexit Britain seeks to build global partnerships.
China and Britain have enjoyed robust growth in trade and investment over recent decades and China sees Britain as an important ally in its call for more open global markets. Both countries talk of a ‘golden era’ of relations.
Chinese investment is helping Britain develop infrastructure and create jobs, with some 50,000 British businesses importing goods from China and more than 10,000 sell their goods to China,
Official figures show that trade between the UK and China is at record levels and has grown by over 60% since 2010. And expert in UK-China relations, Wang Zhanpeng, from the Bejing Foreign Studies University, has claimed that Britain’s capacity to strike free trade deals after Brexit will see the £60bn trade flow between the two countries continue to soar.
British Ambassador to China, Barbara Woodward, echoed these remarks, adding: “The UK will be free to make our own decisions about trade agreements, so these talks will explore the scope to work with China and move towards a more ambitious trading relationship.”
Britain is China’s second-largest trading partner inside Europe, while China is Britain’s second-largest partner outside the EU.
