This episode discusses the implications for China of the United Kingdom’s departure for the European Union, or ‘Brexit’. On June 23, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, sending shockwaves throughout Europe and the rest of world. At a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that Beijing attaches great importance to its relations with the U.K. and added cryptically that Brexit is “sure to have implications in various ways, including but not limited to bilateral relations between China and the U.K.”
The reaction in China, the world’s second largest economy, was difficult to decipher. To help understand the implications of Brexit for China and the China-U.K. relationship, this episode is joined by Philippe Le Corre, a Visiting Fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. This episode discusses what Brexit means for China’ economic and political interests in Europe, and the new strategic and trade implications for China with both the EU and the U.K.