Beijing advises Chinese companies operating in Britain to take ‘precautions’ over Brexit
But Liu Xiaoming, Chinese Ambassador to Britain, says Beijing respects Britain’s choice to leave European Union
Chinese companies operating in Britain, especially in the financial sector or whose European headquarters are in Britain, need to take “precautions” owing to uncertainly over Brexit, China’s ambassador to Britain said.
Before Britain’s vote to exit the European Union last June, Beijing had not directly stated an opinion, viewing it as an internal matter and saying only that it wanted to see a strong and stable Europe.
However, diplomatic sources said that was coded support for the defeated “remain” camp, as the bloc – China’s largest trading partner – would lose about a sixth of its economic output and an important supporter of free trade in the EU.
British Prime Minister Theresa May set out her vision for Brexit in a speech in mid-January, outlining plans to leave the EU single market in a clean break with the bloc.
In an interview with the China Daily, published on Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming repeated China’s position that Beijing respected Britain’s choice and hoped for an early arrangement between Britain and the EU that was acceptable to both.
