China and India's economies are expected to power ahead this year while growth in Europe and the United States takes a knock.
That makes the Asian giants increasingly important trade and investment partners to help keep Britain's economy growing, and Brown wants a strategic long-term partnership with China.
"I can see in the next few years a 50 percent increase in our trade with China. I can see thousands of British jobs, perhaps tens of thousands of British jobs, over a period of time developing from this new relationship," Brown said in an interview with ITV News on Tuesday.
Brown insists Britain is well placed to weather the global financial crisis but there are signs the decade-long house price boom is grinding to a halt and economic growth is slowing.
That raises the risk of a politically damaging economic downturn in the run-up to the next national election that Brown, a former chancellor, must call by mid-2010 at the latest.
The economy grew by about 3 percent in 2007 but is expected to grow by less than 2 percent in 2008, according to a Reuters poll.
"What's become clear is that China's contribution to global GDP (gross domestic product) growth is going to be increasingly important, especially if there's a likely downturn in the EU (European Union) and the U.S.," said Kerry Brown, a China expert and associate fellow of think-tank Chatham House.
"He (Brown) realises they are an important trade ally."
