THERESA May’s efforts to pursue closer ties with China could boost local efforts to forge partnerships between the two countries.

Both Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth have been building connections with China and encouraging its students to visit.

Poole’s luxury boat builder Sunseeker is owned by the Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda, as is the Odeon cinema chain.

Another famous Poole brand, Merlin Entertainments, sees China as a key growth market, with Legoland and Dungeons attractions planned there.

Bournemouth University’s links include a programme which trains Chinese football coaches and saw 60 of them visit the university and AFC Bournemouth last year.

It has a China Innovation Hub, which links the university with counterparts in China to work on research and development. Current focuses include health innovation, entrepreneurship, creative production and computer animation, disaster management, cyber innovation and robotics.

Over the past two years, its global Festival of Learning in China has seen 60 staff and students travel to hosts across four cities. Fourteen staff and six students will travel to China and Hong Kong in March.

Dr Sonal Minocha, pro vice-chancellor for global Engagement, said: “At Bournemouth University, we are creative and collaborative in our approach to relations with China. Recognising that higher education sits at the nexus of business and government, our China Innovation Hub facilitates a framework for sustainable partnership building in and with China.”

During a trade mission in China, Theresa May has agreed a joint trade and investment review as the first step towards what Downing Street calls an “ambitious” post-Brexit deal.

She has said business deals worth £9billion would be signed during her three-day trip.

After shaking hands with Chinese president Xi Jinping at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Mrs May said both nations were “significant players on the world stage of outward-looking countries”.

Mrs May’s talks have covered issues including human rights, intellectual property rights and the steel market, as well as the threat of a nuclear North Korea.

The prime minister said the Chinese had agreed to make progress over the course of the next six months on lifting the BSE ban on British beef exports as well as allowing a broader range of UK dairy products.