The vote to leave the European Union meant Britons were “showing a losing mindset” and becoming “citizens of a nation that prefers to shut itself from the outside world”, Chinese state media said on Saturday.

Global Times, the Communist party’s mouthpiece, said in an editorial: “The world’s centre used to lie on the two sides of the Atlantic. Now the focus has shifted to the Pacific.”

“For the Chinese people, who are at a critical time to learn about globalisation and democracy, they will continue to watch the consequence of Britain’s embracing of a ‘democratic’ referendum,” said the newspaper, a tabloid published by People’s Daily.

China’s Communist party regularly seeks to legitimise its rule by highlighting the uncertainty caused by elections elsewhere. State media has recently generated a flurry of news reports and commentary on the rise of Donald Trump in the United States. Brexit is receiving similar treatment.

Other state media have taken shots at the Leave campaign’s claims that Britain could more quickly strike trade agreements with rising Asian powers once it is untethered from the EU.

Such an outcome was unlikely, according to Chris Peters, China Daily’s managing editor for Europe. “One estimate currently doing the rounds is that it will take 500 British officials and 10 years to negotiate a fresh trade deal with China,” he wrote in a commentary on Friday.

For their part, Chinese officials have been restrained in their reaction, even though the president, Xi Jinping, had joined several other world leaders in opposing Brexit before the vote.

“A prosperous Europe is in the interests of all parties and China is willing to keep co-operating with Britain and is fully confident in China-EU ties,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a regular media briefing on Friday afternoon.

While Hong Kong stocks dropped nearly 5% on Friday, China shares barely dipped – at just over 1%. China central bank issued a statement on how it would manage the potential fallout.

“We have noted the reactions of financial markets to the announcement of the British referendum on leaving the EU and have made contingency plans,” said the People’s Bank of China.

“We will continue implementing stable and steady monetary policies, and comprehensively applying a range of monetary policy tools, to maintain reasonably abundant liquidity and to safeguard financial stability.”