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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves began a two-day visit to China on Saturday, a historic exchange that highlights the Labor government’s efforts to focus on long-term plans to get the British economy growing again, even if fiscal Worries may be coming back into the house.
Reeves, who this week faced calls from Britain’s main opposition parties to cancel the trip due to market turmoil that has thrown the UK government’s economic position into doubt, met Chinese Vice Premier He in Beijing. Ahead of the meeting with Lifeng, he is seeking stable relations with China.
“We can build a long-term economic relationship with China that will serve the national interest,” Reeves said in a statement released by the Treasury. “The UK wants to find common ground on trade and investment, while being clear about our differences and maintaining national security as the first duty of this government,” he said.
The timing of the China visit is strange for Reeves as a selloff in UK assets, including gilts and the pound, in recent days has raised the possibility of him announcing new spending cuts or tax increases to stabilize Britain’s fiscal position. The Chancellor has so far not paid attention to market movements, instead continuing with his China travel itinerary.
Reeves is being joined on the visit by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, UK Financial Conduct Authority Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi and senior figures from banks including HSBC Holdings Plc. The visit is designed to revive high-level bilateral talks between the UK and China that have been stalled since the pandemic and to consider areas of potential cooperation, including financial services.
The Treasury statement said Reeves also plans to raise concerns over constraints on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, as well as China’s ongoing support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The visit to China is part of Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to improve relations with the world’s second-largest economy, which have been strained for years under successive conservative governments due to the pandemic, China’s crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and many others. After the series. British officials have blamed Beijing for cyber attacks and espionage operations in Britain.
The British Prime Minister wants to boost growth domestically by encouraging foreign investment and boosting trade, and has described his relationship with China – Britain’s fourth-largest single trading partner – as the “Three Cs”. ” is based on: cooperation, challenge and competition.
For China, the meeting with Reeves comes as it works for better relations with US partners ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House. President Xi Jinping’s government has taken diplomatic initiatives in recent months to steady ties with Japan, India and Australia, as Beijing braces for a potential tariff war with the United States that could force it to seek refuge in other markets. Is.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
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