Britain’s Treasury chief kicks off China visit
Britain’s Treasury chief has kicked off a China visit aimed at boosting economic and financial cooperation between the countries, as the U.K.’s Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with Beijing
BEIJING — Britain’s Treasury chief kicked off a visit to China on Saturday aimed at boosting economic and financial cooperation between the countries, as the U.K.’s Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with Beijing.
Rachel Reeves, who is traveling with a delegation of British business leaders, will meet top Chinese finance and economic officials including Vice Premier He Lifeng.
“Growth is the number one mission of this Labour government. And to grow the economy, we need to help great British businesses export around the world,” Reeves said on Saturday as she visited a store of the British folding bike maker Brompton in Beijing.
She added the aim of her visit was “to unlock tangible benefits for British businesses exporting and trading around the world, to ensure that we have greater access to the second biggest economy in the world.”
A priority for Reeves’ trip is reviving the China-U.K. Economic and Financial Dialogue — annual bilateral talks that have been suspended since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and deteriorating relations. London hopes renewed dialogues will help bring down barriers that U.K. businesses face when looking to export or expand to China.
The talks were shelved after ties sourced following a series of spying allegations from both sides, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and a crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony.
British officials said Reeves will also urge Beijing to stop its material and economic support for the Russian war effort in
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