UK and China are renewing their relationship in the spirit of the Chinese New Year
Rachel Reeves’s efforts to renew the China-UK relationship and US president Donald Trump’s distrust of China are bringing China and the UK closer together economically, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Winnie Cao, head of China Desk at the firm, said: “Today’s (January 29th) Chinese New Year celebrates the Year of the Snake. In the Chinese zodiac the snake symbolises change and renewal given its ability to shed its skin. We saw this positive change in Rachel Reeves productive visit to China earlier this month.”
She added: “US president Donald Trump has announced a 10% tariff on Chinese goods which is likely to increase in the coming months, and he is only temporarily lifting the US TikTok ban so ByteDance can find an American partner to buy a majority stake in the app within 75 days.”
“Donald Trump’s attitude to China is clearly not shared by English speakers on TikTok, who, a few days before it was banned temporarily in America on the 19th of January, made a mass exodus to another Chinese owned social media platform called RedNote.”
Winnie said: “If more international users are starting to try out Apps developed in China, this could also pave ways for these Chinese tech companies to expand overseas. The UK can play a key part in attracting such companies to host its international headquarter in the UK. Given that the UK is tax efficient as a location as holding company, and our vibrant capital market and financial services, we could make positive stories amongst the current economic backdrop. This will bring work and jobs to the UK.”
She added: “In the last week, the so called ‘TikTok refugees’ and the existing RedNote users started communicating using the latest AI translation technology, and many were delighted to learn about the ordinary lives taking place in the other part of the world. Lots of English-speaking users on RedNote have expressed that they are now interested in visiting China after seeing what the ordinary Chinese web users post.”
Winnie said: “Since December 2024, China started to offer a visa free transit travel policy allowing people from 54 countries (including the UK) to enjoy 10 days of travel to select areas of the country. This is something those looking to make business connections can also take advantage of, and could be a trend for the tourism industry in 2025.”
She added: “China is a market too big to ignore, but the language can also be challenging to understand for outsiders. Following the TikTok refugee exodus, the App Duolingo has seen a rapid increase of English-speaking users learning Mandarin. A large number of Chinese people, particularly from the larger cities, can already communicate in English”
Winnie said: “However, language is only one aspect of building a relationship. The US culture is arguably much closer to the UK, and British businesses must make the effort to learn about Chinese business culture which has deep roots in China’s long history and civilisation.”
She added: “Hopefully the Chinese New Year is an opportunity for more people to renew their perception of the second largest economy in the world, and for new economic and personal connections to flourish in 2025.”