David Phoenix, vice-chancellor of London South Bank University, is devoted to cultural exchanges between China and the United Kingdom. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A China Friendship Award winner reimagines approaches to relations, Wang Mingjie reports in London.

When London South Bank University's vice-chancellor David Phoenix brought an unconventional two-page-long partnership agreement back from his trip to China, his legal team was concerned.

He says the importance of doing business with Chinese is to build trust and relationships.

"I do not think 20 pages of agreement would make a difference if the trust is not there," he says.

Against the backdrop of the Brexit, Phoenix says that in order for two countries to strengthen higher-education collaborations, both China and the United Kingdom should consider how to build mutual trust and understanding holistically.

"We should identify key development programs, such as the nuclear program that has been launched, and identify key areas of global challenges that we could work together through science and innovation," he says.

"For example, China is growing very fast in nanoscience and nanotechnology and we could potentially look into the areas in water purification to link the technology," he explains.

Culture is also an important element, he says, noting that if a business from the UK is going to work in China, business leaders must understand how to access the Chinese market and how operations work in China.