- What to expect from “Auntie May’s” diplomacy move
This month, the U.K.Prime Minister visited China and Germany. In a nutshell, to summarize the leaders’ long ceremonial speeches, May’s visitto Chinaaimed atclinchinga trade deal,whilein Germany, sheattempted to ensure a smooth exit plan fromtheEuropean Union with Germany’ssupport.
May,aware that neither a transitionaldeal nor a new trade agreement couldbe guaranteed with internal party politics, considered it time to reach out to big economies and strengthen trade and economic relationsbyemphasizing the importance ofasmooth exit and a new deal. Speaking to journalists on Feb. 1 she said, “I am doing what I believe to be important for the sake of the country, which is actually being out here and doing this work in terms of [a] trade deal and at the same time .… we’re doing all the other things necessary for the future of the country.”
May’s trip to China was successful and promising as firstlysheachieved to guarantee a significant numberof commercial deals worth more than 9 billion pounds.
But secondly,it was deemed a good PR campaign. Despite the harsh criticismover May’s so-called “Iron Lady” look, she managed to win the hearts of the Chinese.
During the three-day trip, she became a social media phenomenon and was named“'Auntie May.” Thiscould well be takenas a success withthe possibility of Chinese public supportboosting indirect U.K. exports to China. At the same time, the trip couldwell accelerate talks of a possible free trade dealin the long run once the U.K. leavesthe European Union. Data shows an increasing interest fromChinese investors in the U.K. despite the Brexit uncertainties. Chinese foreign direct investment into the U.K.more than doubled in one year – from $9.2 billion in 2016 to $20.8 billion in 2017.