UK Treasury chief heading to China to revive suspended economic and financial talks

LONDON -- Britain's Treasury chief is travelling to China this weekend to discuss economic and financial cooperation between the countries, as the U.K.'s Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with Beijing.

The Treasury said Friday that Rachel Reeves will travel to Beijing and Shanghai and will meet with her Chinese government counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng.

Reeves' trip is expected to revive the China-U.K. Economic and Financial Dialogue — annual bilateral talks that have been suspended since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and deteriorating relations in recent years.

A series of spying allegations from both sides, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and a crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony, have soured ties.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, are also in the delegation, according to the Treasury. Representatives from some of Britain’s biggest financial services firms will join the trip.

Officials did not provide details, but media reports have said senior executives from HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered were included.

Reeves' visit comes after Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to China in October and Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil in November.

The meetings form part of a bid by Starmer, who was elected as leader in July, to strengthen political and economic ties with China, the U.K.'s fifth-largest trading partner.

Officials said Starmer wanted a “pragmatic” approach to working with Beijing on global stability, climate change and the transition to clean energy.

But some in the opposition Conservative Party have criticized his stance and said trade ties should not come at the expense of national security and human rights concerns.

British political leaders and intelligence chiefs have warned repeatedly of the security threats that China poses. Calls to tackle the challenge grew louder last month when it emerged that an alleged Chinese spy had cultivated close ties with Prince Andrew and carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for China's ruling Communist Party, according to officials.

Nevertheless, Lammy told reporters in London on Thursday that “there are many areas of trade that don’t impact on national security.”

He said Reeves “will repeat many of the messages that I took to China.”

“What we’ve said is in this complex relationship with a global superpower, we are guided by three Cs”: challenge, compete and cooperate, for example in areas including health and climate challenges, Lammy added.

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AP writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.