Global Brexit: A Student’s Perspective III

This is the third in a series of student perspectives on the Global Brexit panel that took place at UNC-Chapel Hill on April 4, 2019. Andrew Rento is a Contemporary European Studies major, with minors in French and Chinese.

The Brexit Crisis: Danger or Opportunity?

Events from two different ends of the earth may not seem to affect each other. That is, until you look more closely and see that the interests and politics of one country are intertwined with those of every other. The Global Brexit Keynote Panel on April 4th demonstrated just that, and as a student studying both Euro and Chinese, I will be discussing Michael Tsin’s speech about China and Brexit. As an Associate’s Professor of History and International Studies at UNC-CH, he had much insight on the topic.

The theme of Tsin’s speech was the inherent conflict in the Brexit crisis since in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two words: “danger” and “opportunity.” For the U.K., they have the most to gain, but also to lose. They are seeking alternative trade deals in lieu of possibly being removed from the EU open market, and China is a top candidate. They also hope that a stronger alliance with China can recalibrate the world order and make the U.K. a top player. These idealistic goals might not come true, especially since Britain cannot go around the world making favorable deals with everyone like the days of their imperial empire.

These idealistic goals might not come true, especially since Britain cannot go around the world making favorable deals with everyone like the days of their imperial empire.

In terms of China, although they are always looking to shake up the world order, they also need a sense of stability in order to carry on with their endeavors. That is why China is invested in Brexit, but not deeply concerned. They already have strong ties with the U.K.’s financial and technology sector, but the U.K. is not a leading trade economy. This means strong trade deals with Britain are not of top priority.

Tsin’s speech makes Brexit more like a crisis for Britain than an opportunity unless China discovers more opportunity in Britain than at the surface. Tsin ended his speech with a note of irony: that a top issue for Brexit is controlling immigration and having greater sovereignty, and if Britain accepts China as a new close ally, they either do not know or do not want to admit that China will inevitably have an increased presence and impact in the U.K.

For more information on the Global Brexit panel and accompanying Lost Futures conference, visit the Center’s Jean Monnet Center of Excellence (JMCE) site. The event was co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, and organized by JMCE key staff members Cemil Aydin and Susan Pennybacker.

The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.