Editor's note: Brexit will have an impact on China in areas like tourism, higher education, and expatriate affairs. Here is a snapshot of the developing complex situation:
Investors:
Brexit is expected to savage investors' risk appetite. Consequently, they will likely pull their money out of risky assets like stocks, analysts said. Chinese investors will be spooked by a weakening British pound and the shaky euro. Volatility is expected to return to global stocks as a section of investors is suspected to have failed to price in Brexit.
But investors will also see much value in safe-haven assets such as gold, US treasuries and the Japanese yen in the short term. Brexit's impact on the A shares and the renminbi will likely be limited given the existing capital controls of Chinese regulators. The People's Bank of China, the central bank, could also use the country's large amount of foreign reserves to support the renminbi, if fresh downward pressure emerges, analysts said.
Shoppers:
According to the Office for National Statistics of the UK, the number of Chinese travelers increased by 46 percent to 270,000 in 2015. They spent 586 million pounds ($861 million), up 18 percent year-on-year. Over 70 percent of them bought at least one luxury product priced over 500 pounds and nearly 20 percent of them bought at least five. The pound plunged to a 30-year low against the US dollar and the euro on Friday. If it continues to weaken, Chinese tourists' shopping frenzy is expected to intensify in coming months. The number of Chinese travelers to the UK is also expected to surge in the second half of this year, potentially boosting their consumption there. The euro is also expected to weaken. So, Chinese consumers' shopping budgets in other European countries, especially for luxury products, will increase accordingly.
University applicants:
China contributed the largest pool of overseas students to the UK in 2015, accounting for 15 percent. Brexit could lead to tighter student visa and immigration policies in the UK. Worse, some multinational companies may move their European headquarters away from Britain. This could hurt job prospects of career-minded Chinese students who usually hope to gain some post-study work experience in the UK.
British universities used to receive nearly 15 percent of their total annual funding from the EU, towards scholarships, research and innovation. That will stop after Brexit. Part of its impact may be offset by higher budgetary allocations from the UK, which no longer has to contribute funds to the EU. Yet, tuition fees of British universities are expected to rise.
That may increase the financial burden on Chinese students. How far a weaker pound offsets this remains to be seen. A standalone Britain outside of the EU may lose some of its pull. It is conceivable that some Chinese students will pursue higher education in France or Germany, or go farther to the United States.
Chinese in UK:
Most of the Chinese in Britain are working in either high-tech companies or catering businesses. Brexit could well lower competition for other jobs as many people from east European countries may no longer be qualified to work in the UK, said Zhang Xi Parker, who is married to an Englishman and is a home-maker in Ramsgate Kent. Many Chinese living in the UK have seen things changing in the UK well before the referendum.
Britons in China:
For British nationals working and living in China, Brexit-related meltdown of the pound sterling could spell an opportunity to own more of their own currency with the same level of salary earned in renminbi. This was not apparent when the pound strengthened in the run-up to Thursday's referendum, when "smart money" was on the bet that 'Remain' would win by a narrow margin.
Other than that, Brexit won't have an immediate impact on their life in China. As a sovereign state, the UK has healthy political and economic ties with China. The British passport has either "European Union" or "European Community" embossed on its cover, but since nationality remains British, no problems are foreseen on this front. So, Brexit could actually help Britons in China to get their hands on a nice chunk of home currency.
