China offers UK post-Brexit FTA talks amid US trade tensions

China has offered to “open discussions about a possible free trade deal” between Britain and China post-Brexit, according to UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Speaking in Beijing during his first visit to China as Foreign Secretary, Hunt said the offer was “something that we welcome,” and that the UK “will explore.”

The Foreign Secretary was briefing journalists alongside China’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, following talks on Monday. Wang said that the two countries had “agreed to proactively join-up each others’ development strategies, and expand the scale of trade and mutual investment.”

According to Reuters, a trade pact with China would represent a political win for the UK government, but formal talks cannot begin until it officially leaves the EU next year.

However, such a pact would also be of political value to China, which is engaged in an ongoing campaign to build a meaningful trade alliance to confront US protectionism. President Trump has given little indication of easing his stance on China, and has even threatened blanket tariffs on all Chinese imports.

Beijing is likely to be concerned by the tentative agreement struck between the US and the EU last week, which was received with gloom in some quarters. According to The South China Morning Post, the deal now ‘pivots the White House focus on to its escalating trade war with China.’

In this respect, Beijing’s FTA overture can be seen as a way of bringing the UK more closely aligned with China as a trade partner. It also contrasts with President Trump’s ambiguous stance on a US-UK FTA, of which he made opposing remarks during his recent UK visit.

However, China’s FTA offer to the UK could also be in response to a perceived absence of China in the UK’s trade priorities as outlined by UK Secretary for International Trade Liam Fox earlier this month.

Announcing an “historic” public consultation on the UK’s future trading partners, Fox said: “We are seeking to put the UK at the heart of the world’s fastest growing regions agreements like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

“It’s also why I’m making the case for a trade deal with our single largest trading partner the USA and will continue do the same with the New Zealand and Australia.”

China’s notable absence – particularly as Fox’s speech preceded trade talks in Washington – may have concerned Beijing, prompting the accommodating tone in today’s dialogue.