HomeBusinessRachel Reeves defends China visit and hails £600m boost to UK

Rachel Reeves defends China visit and hails £600m boost to UK


Reuters UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves dressed in a black jacket and red shirt standing in front of a backdrop of two flags representing China and the UK
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.