May's tough search for trading partners

Even before she embarked on what turned out to be a controversial visit to the White House, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she planned an early trip to China that would focus on boosting trade.

There is a slight air of desperation in the May government's haste to reinforce ties with partners both old and new outside Europe as the economic consequences of the electorate's decision to quit the European Union sink in.

She was the first foreign leader to meet US President Donald Trump after his inauguration and secured what she described as his 100 percent commitment to the NATO alliance. However, Trump's subsequent move to ban travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, announced the day that May left Washington, provoked an outcry in Britain as it did elsewhere.