Britain’s Treasury chief is heading to China to revive suspended economic and financial talks

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Treasury chief is travelling to China this weekend in a bid to boost economic and financial cooperation between the countries, as the U.K.’s Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with Beijing.

Rachel Reeves will seek stability in the United Kingdom’s relationship with China and aim to help grow Britain’s lackluster economy, the Treasury said on Friday. She will travel to Beijing and Shanghai and meet with her Chinese government counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng.

A focus of 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 in recent years. The British side wants the dialogue to 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.

Officials said that aside from discussing ways to deepen trade and cooperation, Reeves will also urge Beijing to stop its material and economic support for the Russian war effort in Ukraine and raise the issue of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong.

The delegation will include Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and the CEOs of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and the London Stock Exchange Group. Senior executives from some of Britain’s biggest financial services firms, including the group chairmen of HSBC and Standard Chartered, were also on board.

While in Beijing, Reeves is expected to visit leading U.K. brands operating in China, including Jaguar Land Rover, whisky distributor Diageo and bicycle maker Brompton.

Her visit comes after Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to China in October and Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil in November.

The meetings form part of a bid by Starmer, who was elected as leader in July, to strengthen political and economic ties with China, the U.K.’s fourth-largest single trading partner according to the Treasury.

Officials said Starmer wanted a “pragmatic” approach to working with Beijing on global stability, climate change and the transition to clean energy.

But some in the opposition Conservative Party have criticized his stance and said trade ties should not come at the expense of national security and human rights concerns.

British political leaders and intelligence chiefs have warned repeatedly of the security threats that China poses. Calls to tackle the challenge grew louder last month when it emerged that an alleged Chinese spy had cultivated close ties with Prince Andrew and carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for China’s ruling Communist Party, according to officials.

Nevertheless, Lammy told reporters in London on Thursday that “there are many areas of trade that don’t impact on national security.”

He said Reeves “will repeat many of the messages that I took to China.”

“What we’ve said is in this complex relationship with a global superpower, we are guided by three Cs”: challenge, compete and cooperate, for example in areas including health and climate challenges, Lammy added.

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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Sylvia Hui, The Associated Press