British trade negotiators are studying the outcomes of President Donald Trump’s recent visit to Beijing to gauge opportunities for a post-Brexit trade deal with China, diplomatic sources have confirmed.
The visit, which concluded on Saturday, saw China pledge to increase imports from the United States and address concerns over intellectual property theft. However, no specific figures or timetables were announced. British officials, still in the early stages of scoping a bilateral trade agreement with China, are now assessing how the US-China engagement might influence their own negotiating position.
“The Trump-Xi summit offered a useful template for what is achievable and what remains contested,” said a senior official at the Department for International Trade, who spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing. “We are particularly interested in how Chinese concessions on market access for US financial services firms could be replicated for British banks and insurers.”
Britain’s financial services sector, a key pillar of the economy, is seen as a priority in any future trade deal with China. UK negotiators will be watching closely whether China follows through on commitments made to the United States, particularly in opening its financial markets to foreign firms. “If Beijing delivers for American banks, it will be harder for them to argue that British firms are not entitled to similar treatment,” the official added.
Another area of focus is agriculture. Trump secured a deal to lift a long-standing ban on US beef imports, which British farmers hope could signal a softening of Chinese restrictions on British lamb and beef. “We are already seeing Chinese officials becoming more receptive to discussions on food standards,” said a trade association executive with knowledge of the talks. “The US deal may have broken the ice.”
However, analysts caution that a US-China trade deal, even a modest one, could complicate Britain’s efforts. “The Chinese have limited capacity for trade liberalisation at any one time,” said Dr. Catherine Wu, a trade expert at the London School of Economics. “If they have already made significant concessions to the US, they may be less willing to offer similar terms to the UK. Britain will need to bring something unique to the table.”
That something, according to Whitehall strategists, is Britain’s soft power and its reputation for legal and regulatory consistency. Unlike the Trump administration’s transactional approach, British officials are pitching a more comprehensive partnership that includes cooperation on technology standards, climate change, and education. “We are not just selling goods and services,” the senior official said. “We are offering a relationship built on shared values and long-term trust.”
Britain’s exit from the European Union, which is scheduled to take effect in March 2019, gives it the freedom to negotiate its own trade deals for the first time in decades. But it also puts pressure on London to deliver quickly. So far, China has been characteristically cautious, insisting that any deal must be “mutually beneficial” and “consistent with China’s development goals.”
Negotiators are expected to hold the next round of talks in London later this month. They will be acutely aware that the window of opportunity may be narrow. “The Americans will not be the only ones competing for Chinese attention,” said Dr. Wu. “The EU, Japan, and Australia are all in the queue. Britain needs to act decisively if it is to secure a meaningful advantage from its newfound independence.”
