What China’s pragmatism teaches us about the Brexit debate

Dr Johnson said that if anyone truly wanted to understand themselves, they should listen to what their enemies say about them. And whilst China is not an enemy of the EU, it is certainly highly critical of it. Why then did China’s President Xi Jinping wade into the Brexit debate and call on Britain to stay put? What would possibly make him support something that criticises his country on human rights, trade issues and market access?

One reason is simply because, for all their differences with western democracies, Chinese leaders and policy makers are very pragmatic. They view Europe predominantly as an economic actor, not a security one. And as a single market with common rules, protocols and regulations, the EU matters to them. Last year alone it accounted for 600 billion dollars in two-way trade between the two entities. Brexit is undesirable for many Chinese because it risks disrupting and weakening that unified market by removing one of the main players in finance, services and high tech.