N. Ireland broadens Brexit horizons

Chinese deals signed as UK province widens trade scope

Northern Ireland, once an industrial powerhouse, wants closer ties with China to safeguard against economic uncertainty as the United Kingdom prepares to exit from the European Union.

On Saturday, more than 100 provincial and municipal leaders from China gathered in Belfast for the third UK-China Regional Leaders Meeting, a gathering created during President Xi Jinping's state visit to the UK in October 2015, at the start of the "golden era" of relations between China and Britain.