BEIJING: British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Saturday during a visit to Beijing that she intended to have \u201cpragmatic\u201d relations with Chinese leaders to boost exports to the world\u2019s second-largest economy.
\nUnder pressure from market turmoil at home, Reeves is seeking to revive high-level economic and financial talks that have been frozen since 2019.
\nShe joins the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue meeting in Beijing with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Saturday, before traveling to Shanghai, accompanied by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and other finance leaders.
\nShe is due to discuss financial services, trading ties and the importance of cooperation on issues like climate change, the Treasury said.
\nHer appearance offers a chance to persuade investors that she has plans to deal with a sharp increase in British government borrowing costs, due in part to a global bond selloff which threatens to derail her budget plans.
\n\u201cThe fiscal rules that I set out in my budget in October are non-negotiable and growth is the number one mission of this government to make our country better off,\u201d Reeves told reporters after visiting a Brompton bicycles shop in Beijing.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m in China to unlock tangible benefits for British businesses exporting and trading around the world to ensure that we have greater access to the second-largest economy in the world.\u201d
\nReeves\u2019 visit follows a dialogue opened last year between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Xi Jinping, the first between the two countries\u2019 leaders since 2018.
\nThe approach taken by the Labour government, elected in July, contrasts with the previous Conservative administration which took a robust approach to differences with China \u2014 particularly over human rights, Hong Kong and allegations of Chinese espionage.
\nAsked on Thursday if Reeves would raise human-rights issues, Starmer\u2019s spokesperson said her visit would fit with London\u2019s stance that it would take a strategic approach to China and challenge it \u201crobustly\u201d when necessary.
\nStarmer has long described his desire to build a relationship with China that is \u201crooted in the UK\u2019s national interests\u201d by boosting trade, a task that may become more difficult if US President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose tariffs on all imports.
\nAsked whether Britain would follow Washington and Brussels in imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, Reeves said: \u201cWe keep issues under review but we make decisions in our national interest.\u201d
\nBritish car manufacturers \u201clike Jaguar and Land Rover export substantially to Chinese markets, and we want to help them to grow.\u201d
\nChina is Britain\u2019s fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for goods and services trade worth almost 113 billion pounds ($138 billion).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING: British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Saturday during a visit to Beijing that she intended to have \u201cpragmatic\u201d relations with Chinese leaders to boost exports to the world\u2019s second-largest economy. Under pressure from market turmoil at home, Reeves is seeking to revive high-level economic and financial talks that have been frozen since 2019. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-454737","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n