With Brexit threatening to drive a wedge between the United Kingdom and the European Union, the country is continuing to strengthen its ties with China. To emphasize the fact, a high-ranking UK official visited China today with a view towards enhancing healthcare cooperation between the two countries.

Alok Sharma, the UK's Minister for Asia and the Pacific, visited China’s southern city of Guangzhou on Monday morning, leading a delegation of medical companies and institutions.

"Cancer is a worldwide problem, China accounts for 20% of new diagnosis.And with the collaborations we have, we will see early prevention and early diagnosis and better treatment," Sharma said.

Two years ago, during an official visit to the UK by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two countries signed deals worth over 2 billion pounds in the fields of healthcare cooperation.

Mr Sharma reassured his Chinese hosts that cooperation between the two countries would not be affected by Brexit.

"Brexit represents opportunities for us in so many areas in trade but also of course health care," Sharma said.

Also on Sharma's itinerary was a visit to the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, which has many ties with British universities and hospitals.

"We have learned a lot in doctors' training, the models, the standards and the protocolof training doctors and nurses. I think it's very helpful for us to train our qualified doctors and nurses for tomorrow," Xiao Haipeng, president of First Affiliated hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, said.

Facing the growing healthcare demand, the Chinese government has set a goal of training 150,000 doctors and 2 million nurses by 2020. British companies are helping China to achieve that goal.

"There's much to do in China. There's a lot to do in China.We're very busying in helping other organizations training. We've opened up our first clinic in Hangzhou," Annie Brr, CEO of Annie Barr International, said.

Mr. Sharma is due to spend a total of five days in China, during which he will also visit the cities of Fuzhou and Beijing.