Chinese president Xi Jinping arrives in London for a state visit today, and tech is set to be high on the agenda.
Home to the world’s largest mobile and and digital market, the UK tech industry has already benefited from Chinese investment, with networking giant Huawei committing an investment of $2bn to the UK.
With experts forecasting that China is set to inject $105bn into UK infrasruture by 2025, coupled with the Chinese government’s ‘Go Global’ campaign for Chinese tech firms, the state visit could prove to cement future UK-China tech ties.
Law firm Pinsent Masons’ corporate technology expert, Andrew Hornigold, said: "London for Chinese companies could act as a springboard into untapped European opportunities – the Chinese will be keen to partner with UK tech counterparts through joint-ventures and strategic alliances when entering European markets.
"They will need UK know-how not only in tech innovation but how-know on how to navigate and comply with EU regulations and laws.
"We expect the number of UK-China tech joint-ventures to increase over the next year. President Xi’s visit to the UK could single further tech ties over the coming years."
In September, Britian and China came together to work on 5G development, and Hornigold believes that Britain is China’s most pragmatic partner in Europe.
