Just eight months ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping was snapping selfies with soccer stars in Manchester, dining at Buckingham Palace and drinking beer in an English pub.

Queen Elizabeth hailed Xi's U.K. visit as a "defining moment." Xi and Prime Minister David Cameron heralded in a "golden era" of relations, establishing the U.K. as China's "best partner in the West." Xi quoted Shakespeare and stressed Britain's "positive role" in deepening China's ties with the European Union.

Now, Cameron is on the way out, Britain has voted to exit the EU and Xi's being forced to reassess his strategy for the 28-member bloc, China's second-biggest trading partner, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.