LONDON, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's ex-private secretary and leading expert on China-UK relations said it is a bold decision for China to close down a major city of millions of people in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

Charles Powell, a member of Britain's House of Lords and chairman of the Said Business School at Oxford University, spoke about the coronavirus, Brexit and Hong Kong in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua.

IMPRESSIVE RESPONSE

Powell said the Chinese government's response to the outbreak has been impressive.

"It got off to a slightly slow start, but once the Chinese government swung into action, the scale of the action has been really very impressive," said Powell.

"In lengthening the Chinese New Year holiday and keeping people at home, for a country of that size and scale to be able to do that is very remarkable."

Other countries, he added, have tried to imitate China's response on a much smaller scale.

"One is seeing how the Italian government is trying to isolate two parts of the country and whether it will work. I think people respect China's reaction," he said.

NOISY POST-BREXIT TALKS

The veteran politician and businessman said he believed there is a genuine wish by Britain's new prime minister Boris Johnson and his government to build further on the relationship with China.

As Britain and the European Union (EU) prepared to kickstart talks on permanent post-Brexit trade agreements, Powell gave his own opinion on the likely outcome.

Following the end of Britain's membership in the bloc on Jan. 31, links and trade between the two sides are continuing as normal as part of a transitional period during which Britain continues to follow rules made in Brussels, but all that will change on Dec. 31 when the transition arrangement ends.

Powell believes the negotiations are going to be difficult.

"They're going to be very noisy. It's a big challenge to get a conclusion across the board in the short time they've allowed."

He said it helps because the Johnson government is looking for far fewer concessions from Europe than the previous government was.

"So in that sense, the mountain is not quite as steep and as high as it might have been," added Powell.

"I think it is perfectly possible we will end up with a minimal agreement. It means basically just trading on normal WTO terms. I hope we can avoid that...there's lots of incentives to reach agreements. But this journey is going to be tough."

Powell said if he was really pressed to the wall, he's put the odds at striking a deal at 60-40.

"I don't think there is going to be a comprehensive trade agreement," he said. "Obviously what worries the Europeans is that Britain will turn out to be more competitive outside the EU than it is when it was inside."

But Powell did not think it would be the end of the world if Britain and the EU fail to reach an agreement.

"Over the long term I believe Britain would continue to do well in the world. We would have advantages of being outside the EU. We will not be so tied down by regulation," he said.

Powell admitted future UK-EU relations based on World Trade Organization (WTO) terms would be worse for Britain than the present terms.

"Because we have completely tariff-free trade and so on. So there will be inconveniences and market obstacles as well. Any WTO arrangement is worse than what we have at present and worse than a Canada-style free trade agreement. But is it calamitously worse or really that much worse? The answer is no."

Powell recalled that before the 2016 referendum on EU membership in Britain, a lot of people in the government, in the city and in business gave the impression that voting for Brexit would be a disaster for the British economy and terrible things would happen. But that hasn't happened very much.

Fear-mongering generated by some critics of Brexit has actually turned out to be misjudged. Instead, Powell suggested, the British economy has been performing relatively well.

CHINA-UK TRADE DEAL

Powell believed China will first seek to reach an agreement with the EU while negotiations with the EU are going to take up a lot of the British government's time this year.

"The idea of big new diplomatic initiatives, whether with China or with anyone, has to be regarded as patiently. Governments can only do so much at one time, even the government in the country the size of China. You can't do everything at once. So I wouldn't be looking for dramatic initiatives," Powell said.

He did not see that as a lack of will. "I think there is a genuine wish on the prime minister's part and the government's part to build the relationship with China further."

In its new position in the world after leaving the EU, Powell noted, Britain will continue to look for balanced policies and good relationships. And that includes wanting a good relationship with China.

Powell served in the 1980s as private secretary and foreign affairs adviser to Margaret Thatcher when she was Britain's prime minister.

Regarding Hong Kong, Powell told Xinhua: "I hope Thatcher would be pleased that the joint declaration signed between Britain and China had very largely been successful in practice, and I still believe this is the case."

"The prosperity of Hong Kong has increased greatly, and China has abided by the obligations and the commitments it undertook in the joint declaration. She would have been worried by some of the demonstrations which have been going on, particularly where she would believe that they were based on ignorance of facts," said Powell.

"I think Mrs. Thatcher would have been distressed by the violence, and she would condemn that very much," he added.

Powell believed that the demonstrations will prove to be "a spasm" rather than a lasting and enduring phenomenon.