Prime Minister Theresa May wants Britain to be a “global leader in free trade” after Brexit, she said Saturday, hailing a “golden era” in ties with China before traveling to the G20 summit.
The prime minister spoke before boarding a plane to China, where she will hold her first meeting as leader with President Xi Jinping.
May, who took office in July after Britain voted to leave the European Union in June’s referendum, will also meet a string of world leaders including US President Barack Obama on Sunday. Her government is still working on its vision for how Britain’s relationship with the EU should look post-Brexit.
Downing Street said after a meeting of ministers this week that it wants immigration controls while retaining strong trading ties.
May says she will not trigger the formal process for leaving the EU before the end of this year.
“This is a golden era for UK-China relations and one of the things I’ll be doing at the G20 is obviously talking to President Xi about how we can develop the strategic partnership that we have between the UK and China,” May said in a media interview.
“But I’ll also be talking to other world leaders about how we can develop free trade around the globe and how Britain wants to seize those opportunities. My ambition is that Britain will be a global leader in free trade.”
May meets Xi on Monday.
In a speech Saturday, President Xi Jinping said that the global economic recovery remained weak and G20 countries should take steps to revive trade and investment.
Xi also said that the Group of 20’s meetings should be transformed into a mechanism that delivers long-term guidance on the global economy, rather than one that just responds to crises.
Xi said the G20 was at a “crucial juncture.”
The G20 held its first leaders’ summit during the 2008 economic crisis and now convenes annually with representatives from a mix of industrialized and developing economies.
China’s hosting of the two-day summit is seen as part of its drive to cement its place among global economic leaders. 
“To seek harmony and coexistence has been in the genes of the Chinese nation throughout history, and it represents the very essence of eastern civilization,” the president said.
“The logic that a strong country is bound to seek hegemony no longer applies, and the wilful use of force will lead nowhere.”

Source: Arab News