Making Britain better off 'at forefront of chancellor's mind' on China trip, says Treasury

Making Britain amended disconnected volition beryllium "at the forefront of the chancellor's mind" during her sojourn to China, the Treasury has said amid contention implicit the trip.

Rachel Reeves flew retired connected Friday aft ignoring calls from absorption parties to cancel the long-planned task due to the fact that of marketplace turmoil astatine home.

The past week has seen a driblet successful the pound and an summation successful authorities borrowing costs, which has fuelled speculation of much spending cuts oregon taxation rises.

The Tories person accused the chancellor of having "fled to China" alternatively than explicate however she volition hole the UK's flatlining economy, portion the Liberal Democrats accidental she should enactment successful Britain and denote a "plan B" to code marketplace volatility.

However, Ms Reeves has rejected calls to cancel the visit, penning successful The Times connected Friday nighttime that choosing not to prosecute with China is "no prime astatine all".

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The chancellor volition beryllium accompanied by Bank of England politician Andrew Bailey and different elder executives.

She volition conscionable with her counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, successful Beijing connected Saturday to sermon fiscal services, commercialized and investment.

She volition besides "raise hard issues", including Chinese firms supporting Russia's penetration of Ukraine and concerns implicit constraints on rights and freedoms successful Hong Kong, the Treasury said.

But it did not notation whether Ms Reeves would rise the treatment of the Uyghur community, which Downing Street said Foreign Secretary David Lammy would bash during his sojourn past year.

On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the trip, telling Sky News that the climbing outgo of authorities borrowing was a "global trend" that had affected galore countries, "most notably the United States".

"We are inactive connected way to beryllium the fastest increasing economy, according to the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] successful Europe," she told Anna Jones connected Sky News Breakfast.

"China is the second-largest economy, and what China does has the biggest interaction connected radical from Stockton to Sunderland, close crossed the UK, and it's perfectly indispensable that we person a narration with them."

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However, erstwhile premier curate Boris Johnson said Ms Reeves had "been rumbled" and said she should "make her mode to HR and cod her P45 - oregon enactment successful China".

While successful the country's capital, Ms Reeves volition besides sojourn British motorcycle marque Brompton's flagship store, which relies heavy connected exports to China, earlier heading to Shanghai for talks with representatives crossed British and Chinese businesses.

It is the archetypal UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) since 2019, gathering connected the Labour government's program for a "pragmatic" argumentation with the world's second-largest economy.

Sir Keir Starmer was the archetypal British premier curate to conscionable with China's President Xi Jinping successful six years astatine the G20 acme successful Brazil past autumn.

Relations betwixt the UK and China person go strained implicit the past decennary arsenic the Conservative authorities spoke retired against quality rights abuses and concerns grew implicit nationalist information risks.

Navigating this has proved tricky fixed China is the UK's 4th largest azygous trading partner, with a commercialized narration worthy astir £113bn and exports to China supporting implicit 455,000 jobs successful the UK successful 2020, according to the government.

During the Tories' 14 years successful office, the attack varied dramatically from the "golden era" nether David Cameron to hawkish aggression nether Liz Truss, portion Rishi Sunak vowed to beryllium "robust" but resisted unit from his ain enactment to marque China a threat.

The Treasury said a unchangeable narration with China would enactment economical maturation and that "making moving radical crossed Britain unafraid and amended disconnected is astatine the forefront of the chancellor's mind".

Ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: "By uncovering communal crushed connected commercialized and investment, portion being candid astir our differences and upholding nationalist information arsenic the archetypal work of this government, we tin physique a semipermanent economical narration with China that works successful the nationalist interest."