Graham said such collaboration brings win-win benefits. Geely has benefitted from understanding how companies work in a Western environment and used that knowledge to carry out further international expansion.

Meanwhile, the investment from Geely helped the UK's economy, he said, adding that similar China-UK collaboration opportunities are plentiful.

"The UK offering has got a huge way to go," Graham said. "We have our bank of goodwill and considerable technological power. Particularly, for a country like China, we work best on collaborative partnerships."

As China has already achieved considerable progress in its economy and other areas through 40 years of reform, Graham said now is "a very interesting time to try and reflect on the options ahead".

Within the context of the United States backtracking from its globalization leadership role and the UK facing uncertainties as it leaves the EU, some analysts have pointed out that the time may be ripe for China to fill the newly created vacuum in global leadership.

Graham acknowledged the benefit of China's growing participation on the global stage. However, he pointed out that China should not "try to accelerate global ambitions and risk not focusing enough on the depth of reforms still needed today".

He added that the UK will continue to support China on its road to internationalization. "We've always been positive, always wanted to encourage China to participate in the global space," he said.