The Lord Mayor of London, Jeffrey Mountevans, is leading a business delegation to China in a bid to strengthen China-U.K. commercial ties.

His visit follows Britain’s shock vote to quit the European Union and China-U.K. tensions over a planned nuclear power plant in which China has a 30 percent stake.

CCTV’s Richard Bestic reports.

Although the role of Lord Mayor is largely symbolic, the challenges ahead for his delegation are very real.

There’s been a Lord Mayor in London’s financial heart since the late 12th century. Dick Whittingdon is the most famous among 688 individuals to have held the title.

The man in the Mayor’s Mansion House today is Jeffrey Mountevans. He is faced with a 21st century business trip to China, just as U.K. is saying farewell to EU.

In fact, most multinational firms will continue to be dual listed in London and New York, and the British capital will retain its European financial crown post-Brexit.

However, the situation is still complicated considering the fact that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has yet to reveal what kind of new partnership Britain will have with EU.

Hinckley Point, a planned $25 billion nuclear reactor in Britain’s West Country is another challenge facing the Lord Mayor’s business delegation to China.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has put the deal on hold, while China, with a 30 percent stake in the project, is eager to go ahead- as is the Lord Mayor.

“I’m keen for an early decision,” said the Lord Mayor. “I think though that, you know we live in a Golden Era, I think it’s bigger than any one project, if I could just say that.”

With the G20 summit now out of the way, the Lord Mayor of London will have something to work on when he arrives in China for his trade mission.

However, he’ll also be aware that the shine on the so-called China-U.K. ‘Golden Era’ will need a little bit of buffing up.

Brian Beary on post-Brexit push

To further discuss the path forward for U.K. post-Brexit, CCTV America’s Rachelle Akuffo spoke with Brian Beary, Washington-based journalist, EU expert and contributing editor to European Affairs.