This paper has endeavoured to look at what impact Britain leaving the European Union will have on its relationship with China, both in terms of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). The UK has been a huge facilitator of closer relations between Europe and China, so the impact will not only be on the UK but also on the European Union as a whole. Much of the literature surrounding Brexit forecasts a very negative impact on relations, however, research in this paper has shown that all though in the short run there may be a slowing of FDI, the trade deficit with China is greater than ever and the huge domestic market that the country offers a huge potential for UK trade if the British government facilitates, through policy, an attractive investment and trade environment and focuses on the strengthening of relations between the two countries. Further, although FDI from China has slowed, from the research conducted we can see that the sectors that are still receiving investment are largely beneficial only to the domestic UK economy and therefore should not be hugely impacted by Brexit. In this regard, the Sino-British relationship investment relationship should be unaffected and maybe even strengthened by Brexit. This also suggests that Chinese investors still have faith in the UK and will look to continue to invest in the long-term. This research paper fills a gap in current literature that mainly focuses on how Brexit will impact UK-EU relations and discusses the potential outcomes of the impact on Sino-British relations given currently the available data.

This paper has endeavoured to look at what impact Britain leaving the European Union will have on its relationship with China, both in terms of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). The UK has been a huge facilitator of closer relations between Europe and China, so the impact will not only be on the UK but also on the European Union as a whole. Much of the literature surrounding Brexit forecasts a very negative impact on relations, however, research in this paper has shown that all though in the short run there may be a slowing of FDI, the trade deficit with China is greater than ever and the huge domestic market that the country offers a huge potential for UK trade if the British government facilitates, through policy, an attractive investment and trade environment and focuses on the strengthening of relations between the two countries. Further, although FDI from China has slowed, from the research conducted we can see that the sectors that are still receiving investment are largely beneficial only to the domestic UK economy and therefore should not be hugely impacted by Brexit. In this regard, the Sino-British relationship investment relationship should be unaffected and maybe even strengthened by Brexit. This also suggests that Chinese investors still have faith in the UK and will look to continue to invest in the long-term. This research paper fills a gap in current literature that mainly focuses on how Brexit will impact UK-EU relations and discusses the potential outcomes of the impact on Sino-British relations given currently the available data.