China ready to open talks with UK on post-Brexit free trade deal, says Jeremy Hunt | City A.M.

China has signalled it is ready to open discussions on a possible free trade deal with Britain once it leaves the EU, the foreign secretary has said.

Jeremy Hunt is on his first overseas visit as foreign secretary after he was appointed to succeed Boris Johnson, who resigned in protest at Theresa May’s Brexit Chequers deal.

Hunt is just one of several Cabinet ministers sent abroad to woo potential allies into striking trade deals with the UK post-Brexit.

Hunt is in Beijing to discuss issues such as free trade, climate change and enforcing UN sanctions on North Korea.

His trip follows a visit by May earlier this year where £9bn worth of trade deals were signed and new measures were agreed to open up China to UK goods and services.

Following his visit to China hunt will head to Paris and Vienna for talks with his counterparts on issues such as Brexit and international security issues such as the threat form Russia, the Iran deal and the war in Syria.

May visited Vienna over the weekend for talks with Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz who said it was important for the UK to avoid a “hard” Brexit.

Read more: Jeremy Hunt jets off to China in first trip as Foreign Secretary