Representatives from the Government's Midlands Engine group, which aims to increase productivity in the region, led a meeting with councils and business leaders recently in an effort to encourage business from the Midlands to join a trade mission in November, reported The Telegraph.

KPMG has been hired to draw up details of how Midlands-based companies can take advantage of the opportunities to trade with China, in order to shore up trade relationships ahead of the UK's departure from the European Union.

The report will be presented by chairman of the Midlands Engine group, Sir John Peace, at the China International Industry Fair in Shanghai at the end of October. A number of businesses with roots in the Midlands are understood to be working on plans to increase their presence in the Chinese market.

The region is associated with engineering and manufacturing industries, but is also home to a burgeoning technology sector. The Midlands currently accounts for 23 per cent of all English exported goods, official figures show.

According to the Government, the Midlands is the only part of the UK where trade with China more than doubled between 2010 and 2015, increasing by 118.4 per cent, compared to the national increase of 57.7 per cent.