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China warns UK over 'suspicious approach' to Hinkley Point deal Hinkley Point: China warns UK not to drive away would-be investors
(about 4 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. Theresa May has been warned by China not to risk driving away Chinese investors as the country’s official news agency questioned the British government’s delay in approving the controversial new Hinkley Point C 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. Xinhua news agency said China understood and respected Britain’s requirement for more time to think about the deal, but it dismissed fears that China would put “backdoors” into the technology used on the project, that might present threats to UK national security.
Xinhua news agency said China understood and respected Britain’s requirement for more time to think about the deal. It said: “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.”
“However, what China cannot understand is the ‘suspicious approach’ that comes from nowhere to Chinese investment in making the postponement,” it said. Xinhua commentaries are not official government statements, although they are often viewed as offering a taste of the regime’s thinking.
Related: Osborne rejected safeguards over Chinese role in Hinkley Point, says ex-ministerRelated: 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 article came after the British prime minister was reported to have previously voiced concerns about the security implications of a planned Chinese investment at Hinkley Point, views which emerged following her government’s surprise delay to giving the £18bn project the green light last week.
“For a kingdom striving to pull itself out of the Brexit aftermath, openness is the key way out,” it said. Responding to the Xinhua report, the prime minister’s official spokeswoman said: “The PM’s focus is on making sure we take the right decision, recognising that we need a reliable and secure energy supply, recognising that nuclear energy is an important part of that.”
“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.” She would not be drawn on whether May has national security concerns about Chinese involvement in Hinkley or whether No 10 has had any contact with Chinese officials.
Such commentaries are not government statements, but offer a reflection of official thinking. However, she added: “This is just about taking the time to carefully consider all the component parts of the project. This is a big infrastructure decision and it’s right the new prime minister and new government take the time to make sure they are fully informed.”
Xinhua said people might think Britain was trying to erect a wall of protectionism. Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat former business secretary, had said May was previously against relaxing visa requirements for visiting Chinese businessmen when she was home secretary and had to be overruled by the then chancellor, George Osborne.
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. Cable suggested May had a “general prejudice” against Chinese investment due to national security concerns. “It came up in all kinds of different ways. Osborne kept pushing for more liberal treatment of visas for Chinese businessmen and she was very reluctant to go along with that. So I think she has form in adopting a more suspicious approach, more in line with the American position,” he told the Sunday Telegraph.
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. When the UK government was led by David Cameron and Osborne, the UK courted Chinese investment and was lauded last year by China’s president, Xi Jinping, for the “visionary and strategic choice” to become Beijing’s best friend in the west.
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. Britain and France’s EDF first reached a broad commercial agreement on Hinkley Point C in 2013, which has been dogged by concerns about its cost. China got involved two years later, via China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), and Downing Street laid on a state visit for Xi Jinping designed to cement a “golden era” of relations between the two countries.
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. Asked if May has a different view on Chinese investment to her predecessor, and if No 10 wants to continue Osborne’s promise of a “golden age of relations” with China, her spokeswoman added: “The government has been clear Britain is open to business and wants to be attracting investment from all round the world.
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. “Of course, the role China plays in world affairs, the global economy, we are going to continue to seek a strong relationship with China.”
Whitehall moved last week to reassure Hinkley’s two foreign backers about the project’s viability after they were spooked by the UK’s shock delay.
The UK refused to give immediate approval for the nuclear plant just two hours after EDF announced its board had approved construction of Hinkley Point C. EDF’s approval had been preceded by a week of blanket media coverage predicting that the project was about to be given the go-ahead.
CGN, which would hold an estimated one-third stake in Hinkley, said on Saturday it respected the decision of the new British government to take the time needed to familiarise itself with the programme.
EDF declined to comment.