By Laurie Chen and Andy Bruce
BEIJING (Reuters) -British finance minister Rachel Reeves, facing criticism for travelling to China during financial market turmoil at home, said on Saturday that “pragmatic and predictable” relations with Beijing would help boost economic growth and trade.
Under pressure from a sharp rise in British interest rates, Reeves defended her budget at the start of the two-day visit to China, where she is seeking to revive high-level economic and financial talks that have been frozen for nearly six years.
“The fiscal rules that I set out in my budget in October are non-negotiable, and growth is the number one mission of this government to make our country better off,” Reeves told reporters at a Brompton bicycle shop in Beijing.
“That’s why I’m in China to unlock tangible benefits for British businesses exporting and trading around the world to ensure that we have greater access to the second-largest economy in the world.”
The rise in British government borrowing costs, due in part to a global bond selloff, prompted comparisons with the 2022 “mini-budget” crisis that forced then-Prime Minister Liz Truss out of Downing Street.
However, this week’s market moves have been less sharp and there has so far been no evidence of the strain on institutional investors that forced the Bank of England into emergency bond purchases in 2022.
On trade, asked whether Britain would follow Washington and Brussels in imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, Reeves, who will be in Shanghai on Sunday, said: “We keep issues under review but we make decisions in our national interest.”
British car manufacturers, “like Jaguar Land Rover, export substantially to Chinese markets, and we want to help them to grow.”
After her bicycle shop visit, Reeves met Vice President Han Zheng, telling him it was “important to have open and frank dialogue in areas where we agree, but also in areas where we have different views.”
‘COMMON GROUND’
Her delegation, which includes Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, Standard Chartered Chairman Jose Vinals, and HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker, then met Chinese counterparts led by Vice Premier He Lifeng.
He urged British financial firms to expand renminbi services and promote deeper yuan internationalisation, while inviting them to participate in green finance and the pension industry in China.
Reeves said she looked forward to China issuing its first overseas sovereign green bond in London this year.
Her visit follows a dialogue opened last year between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Xi Jinping, the first between the two countries’ leaders since 2018.
Reeves told He that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising geopolitical tensions and climate change meant that they faced a much more challenging environment than when their predecessors last met.
“It is important to prevent economic leaps weakening our national security and economic resilience,” she said, adding both she and He wanted to “find common ground” in this regard.
He said Beijing will work with London to ensure a fair, non-discriminatory business environment for each country’s firms.
The approach adopted by Starmer’s Labour government, elected in July, contrasts with that of the previous Conservative administration, which took a robust path to differences with China – particularly over human rights, Hong Kong and allegations of Chinese espionage.
Asked on Thursday if Reeves would raise human-rights issues, Starmer’s spokesperson said her visit would fit with London’s stance to take a strategic approach to China and challenge it “robustly” when necessary.
Starmer has long described his desire to build a relationship with China that is “rooted in the UK’s national interests” by boosting trade, a task that may become more difficult if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose tariffs on all imports.
China is Britain’s fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for goods and services trade worth almost 113 billion pounds ($138 billion).
($1 = 0.8162 pound)
(Reporting by Andy Bruce and Elizabeth Piper in London; Laurie Chen and Mo Yelin in Beijing; writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by William Mallard and Saad Sayeed)
