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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/01/china-warns-uk-over-suspicious-approach-to-hinkley-point-deal
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| China warns UK over 'suspicious approach' to Hinkley Point deal | China warns UK over 'suspicious approach' to Hinkley Point deal |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| China has warned Britain that it cannot risk driving away Chinese investors as the country’s official news agency questioned the UK government’s postponement of approval for the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant. | China has warned Britain that it cannot risk driving away Chinese investors as the country’s official news agency questioned the UK government’s postponement of approval for the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant. |
| Theresa May, the prime minister, is understood to be concerned about the security implications of a planned Chinese investment in Hinkley and has delayed giving the £18bn project the green light. | Theresa May, the prime minister, is understood to be concerned about the security implications of a planned Chinese investment in Hinkley and has delayed giving the £18bn project the green light. |
| Xinhua news agency said China understood and respected Britain’s requirement for more time to think about the deal. | Xinhua news agency said China understood and respected Britain’s requirement for more time to think about the deal. |
| “However, what China cannot understand is the ‘suspicious approach’ that comes from nowhere to Chinese investment in making the postponement,” it said. | “However, what China cannot understand is the ‘suspicious approach’ that comes from nowhere to Chinese investment in making the postponement,” it said. |
| Related: Osborne rejected safeguards over Chinese role in Hinkley Point, says ex-minister | Related: Osborne rejected safeguards over Chinese role in Hinkley Point, says ex-minister |
| The project will create thousands of jobs and generate much needed energy following the closure of coal-fired power plants, Xinhua added, dismissing fears China would put “backdoors” into the project. | The project will create thousands of jobs and generate much needed energy following the closure of coal-fired power plants, Xinhua added, dismissing fears China would put “backdoors” into the project. |
| “For a kingdom striving to pull itself out of the Brexit aftermath, openness is the key way out,” it said. | “For a kingdom striving to pull itself out of the Brexit aftermath, openness is the key way out,” it said. |
| “If history offers any guide, many China-targeted suspicions have been boiled down to diffidence and distortion. China can wait for a rational British government to make responsible decisions, but can not tolerate any unwanted accusation against its sincere and benign willingness for win-win co-operation.” | “If history offers any guide, many China-targeted suspicions have been boiled down to diffidence and distortion. China can wait for a rational British government to make responsible decisions, but can not tolerate any unwanted accusation against its sincere and benign willingness for win-win co-operation.” |
| Such commentaries are not government statements, but offer a reflection of official thinking. | Such commentaries are not government statements, but offer a reflection of official thinking. |
| Xinhua said people might think Britain was trying to erect a wall of protectionism. | Xinhua said people might think Britain was trying to erect a wall of protectionism. |
| This “will surely stain its credibility as an open economy and might deter possible investors from China and other parts of the world in the future”, it added. | This “will surely stain its credibility as an open economy and might deter possible investors from China and other parts of the world in the future”, it added. |
| The plan by France’s EDF to build two reactors with financial backing from a Chinese state-owned company was championed by David Cameron as a sign of Britain’s openness to foreign investment. | The plan by France’s EDF to build two reactors with financial backing from a Chinese state-owned company was championed by David Cameron as a sign of Britain’s openness to foreign investment. |
| But just hours before a signing ceremony was due to take place on Friday, May’s new government said it would review the project again, raising concern that Britain’s approach to infrastructure deals, energy supply and foreign investment may be changing. | But just hours before a signing ceremony was due to take place on Friday, May’s new government said it would review the project again, raising concern that Britain’s approach to infrastructure deals, energy supply and foreign investment may be changing. |
| China General Nuclear Power, which would hold a stake of about a third in the project, said on Saturday it respected the decision of the new British government to take the time needed to familiarise itself with the programme. | China General Nuclear Power, which would hold a stake of about a third in the project, said on Saturday it respected the decision of the new British government to take the time needed to familiarise itself with the programme. |
| Britain and EDF first reached a broad commercial agreement on the project in 2013. China got involved two years later when Downing Street laid on a state visit for President Xi Jinping, designed to cement a “golden era” of relations between the two countries. | Britain and EDF first reached a broad commercial agreement on the project in 2013. China got involved two years later when Downing Street laid on a state visit for President Xi Jinping, designed to cement a “golden era” of relations between the two countries. |