Sooner or later, the United Kingdom, if it wants to remain competitive, will follow in Switzerland and Norway's footsteps to enter into free trade agreement talks with China after withdrawing from the European Union, experts said.

Wealthy non-EU member Switzerland signed a free trade agreement with China in 2014, and Norway is now in talks with China to reach a bilateral free trade deal.

Ma Yu, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said the UK was Chinese companies' favorite European investment destination and has strong business and diplomatic ties with China.