A survey by the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) has shown that British companies are confident about trade with China in the aftermath of the UK leaving the EU.
Over half (56%) of the 266 respondents said that Brexit would create either “many more” or “more” business opportunities with China generally, while 44% stated that a free trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and China would generate more opportunities for their own companies.
A significant majority (88%) of respondents think that it is either “very important” or “important” to achieve an FTA, and almost three-quarters (73%) believe it is possible to do so in under five years.
Ensuring a simpler approach to dispute resolution, simplified UK and Chinese visa rules and the strengthening of intellectual property rights should be among the main aims of negotiations on such an agreement, respondents suggested.
Removing tariffs, standardising and digitising trade documents, and reinforcing protection for foreign investors in joint ventures (JVs) were also seen as key issues.
Reduced tariffs were seen as being positive for their particular sectors by an overwhelming majority (95%) of those surveyed.
Based on the survey results, the CBBC has made a number of recommendations to further support UK-China trade and investment in the coming years. They include establishing a China-specific taskforce within the UK Government to assess the parameters of an FTA.
The taskforce should, it said, include key members of the UK business community with expertise on UK-China trade and investment.
Other industry taskforces should also be created, comprising leading UK companies who can make recommendations in their specific sectors. The CBBC wants to see working groups set up with relevant Chinese stakeholders from both government and business.
Further details of the CBBC survey can be found atwww.cbbc.org.
