BREXIT: OTHER CHINESE REACTIONS
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A Chinese working in a business association helping investment overseas, recently said that she thought Chinese investment to the UK would fall because the UK had always been seen as the gateway to Europe. She then added that Chinese would be selling their houses in London and buying in Berlin. Elsewhere, ordinary Chinese (even ordinary Chinese, and not only the rich elite, seem to have foreign exchange savings) are selling Pounds and the Euro. Other initial reactions to Brexit varied with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the highest-ranking Chinese leader to comment on the vote, saying on June 27, 2016, that the decision had “further increased the uncertainty in the global economy.” Li Keqiang told a World Economic Forum gathering in the northern port city of Tianjin that “We would like to see a united, stable EU, and a stable, prosperous Britain.” Separately, Xie Tao, a Professor of Political Science at Beijing Foreign Studies University, observed “One major reason why China attaches great importance to its relations with the U.K. is to leverage EU policy via the U.K.” He added that London’s value as a “bridgehead” to Europe has been lost with Brexit, leaving China to turn its focus to Germany. Ruan Zongze, Vice President of the China Institute of International Studies, a think-tank of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, sounded a slightly optimistic note when he said “Brexit might end up as a blessing in disguise for China. It looks like a bad situation on the surface, but there are opportunities that can be discovered and played up, as long as there’s effort on both sides.”
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