
Reuters
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has defended her decision to travel to China to improve economic ties at a time when soaring government borrowing costs threaten to squeeze UK public finances.
She says she wants a long-term relationship with China that is “squarely in our national interest” and on Saturday said agreements reached in Beijing would be worth £600m to the UK over the next five years.
Her trip has been overshadowed by UK borrowing costs hitting a 16-year high and a fall in the value of the pound, with the Conservatives accusing Reeves of having “fled to China”.
Speaking during a visit to UK bike maker Brompton’s Beijing store, Reeves insisted she would not alter her economic plans.