Three years ago I was a Remainer, but
Boris Johnson has made me hopeful about trade deals with high-growth emerging markets like China. The benefits of these deals can reinvigorate
British entrepreneurship and innovation, and revitalise our disenfranchised communities.I voted for
Britain to remain in the
European Union in 2016, and in many ways I am still a Remainer. Despite fiercely divided opinion among my fellow business owners and entrepreneurs, I believe that most of British industry felt the same. Entrepreneurs like me love adventure and have a healthy appetite for risk, but above all we need stability.Risk is only workable when it is quantified and calculated, and
Brexit at the time was a “black box”, making it almost impossible for us to know exactly what we were voting for.Now that it’s clear that the country is, overall, committed to Brexit, it’s time for us to focus on the upside and the opportunities. I’m excited at the idea of Britain becoming a freewheeling, entrepreneurial island, starting with negotiating our own trade deals. Most of the focus here has been on the possibility of a “bumper trade deal” between the
UK and the US, but there is much more to think about than just this one deal.Far away from the States, I can see huge opportunities for Brexit Britain in emerging markets, especially in the BRIC (Brazil,
Russia,
India, China) markets. These are countries that not so long ago we would have called “the third world”. More recently, they were labelled “the developing world”. The fact that we now see them as markets, with opportunities and consumers with much the same dreams as our next door neighbour in the UK, shows that our attitudes are changing.Related... What's The Latest On Brexit Now Boris Johnson Has A Huge Majority? The power balance in the world has shifted, and Brexit could be a chance for us to play catch up. And catching up is exactly what we need to do: China, for example, is far more sophisticated than the UK in the things that will really matter in the future, like financial technology and sustainable energy.We often miss these details when we talk about
China – I’ve only become aware of them after visiting the country seven times this year. After every visit, coming home feels like travelling back in time.We sometimes focus on China’s economic power outside its borders or its muscular policies inside them – and forget to ask what we can learn from the world’s most high growth and entrepreneurial place. China grew 6.6% last year (an average year by Chinese standards). The UK grew 1.8%. It is high time we understood that China is beginning to lead the world in the future-proof areas of FinTech and the green industry – and we need to work with them.There is no reason why we should miss out on all this and continue to prioritise our European neighbours. Europe has its own internal struggles that mean that not only is higher growth and sustainable innovation difficult to achieve – it is often simply not a priority for those in power, who are busy fighting fires.France continues to face Yellow Vest
protests in its major cities.
Spain is being torn apart by
Catalan independence.
Germany is busy integrating a million migrants and refugees. At home, we have ongoing issues with extremism, including the far-right. It is only by securing our economic growth that Johnson will be able to reinvigorate our communities and eradicate the social conditions that are fertile recruitment grounds for extremism of all types.Brexit’s opponents say it is colonial in nature, built on outdated images of Britain as a global power that can bully and pillage its way around the world. Brexit can also be a gateway for the one part of colonialism that perhaps it is time we brought back: The appetite for adventure and risk that can take someone beyond their own shores to pursue opportunities that are simply unavailable at home.Asad Hamir is a sustainable tech entrepreneur and co-founder of NoliiRelated... Report Into
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