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The United Kingdom has longstanding security and economic interests in Southeast Asia. London is a member of the Five Power Defence Arrangements and has a residual military presence in Brunei. Two-way trade with Southeast Asia may only constitute a fraction of the United Kingdom's trade with Europe but it still amounted to £32.4 billion (US$45 billion) in 2016 — a 9.1 per cent increase from 2015. The United Kingdom's main trading partner in the region is Singapore, through which trade with other ASEAN states is often routed.
Beyond its bilateral ties, London's relationship with ASEAN is mediated through the European Union, one of ASEAN's most generous dialogue partners. As the United Kingdom exits the EU, the challenge will be to develop a coherent policy towards Southeast Asia that takes account of the United Kingdom's wider geopolitical and security interests, while strengthening its economic ties with Southeast Asia — a market of over 640 million people. The United Kingdom must also balance a long-term strategy for engaging ASEAN with the high-profile pursuit of new FTAs.
The visit of Prime Minister Theresa May to China in January 2018 was seen as a stepping stone to a full free trade agreement after Brexit, with the Prime Minister stating that she expected deals worth £9bn to be signed during the course of her visit.
But how much is the relationship worth to each country? In terms of total trade in goods and services, China is the UK's fifth largest trading partner (in terms of countries) - and the second largest non-EU partner after the United States. In 2016, UK-China trade was worth £59.1bn. The UK ran a trade deficit of £25.4bn with China in 2016. Imports from China were £42.3bn, whereas UK exports to China were worth £16.8bn. The UK had a surplus of £1.6bn on trade in services with China in 2016, the largest being travel services. In contrast, when you look at goods, China exports £27.1bn more to the UK than the UK does to China.
China remains ASEAN largest trading partner and is expected to be become one of the largest exporters and provider of foreign direct investment overtaking EU. It's innovative 'Belt and Road Initiative', a venture to create the modern day 'silk road' spanning 60 countries and 70% of the world's population has effectively shifted the centre of global economy to Asia.
This roundtable will discuss the following issues:
• How is the British government promoting British business and cooperation with ASEAN?
• How does UK see the role of China in ASEAN?
• With the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU approaching, London has to decide whether it wants formal partnership with ASEAN — and, if so, what kind of arrangement?
• Is the "Golden Era" of UK-China Trade links in peril following the UK's resistance in giving a formal endorsement to the Belt and Road Initiative?
