[VIP Webinar Series] UK-China-EU Triangle

2020-05-15 | All chapters

As the largest market in Asia for the EU and the UK, China is equally important to both. But even before the Brexit vote had taken place, the UK appeared keen to form a relationship with China that would be distinct from the EU’s. In 2015, then-prime minister David Cameron hailed the coming ‘golden era’ of UK-China relations, and photos of him drinking Greene King ale in his local pub with President Xi Jinping were widely publicised. Post-Brexit, the UK embarked on a delicate balancing act of disentangling itself from the EU, simultaneously distancing itself from certain sensitive political issues in order to advance economic ties with China, while trying to stay close to Europe on key issues. With President Joerg Wuttke as a moderator, speakers delved into questions such as the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on EU-China-UK relations.