UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will travel to China during the second week of January in a bid to revitalize high-level economic discussions and improve bilateral relations, Bloomberg reports.
Reeves will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing on January 11, followed by meetings with British businesses in Shanghai on January 12, according to a source familiar with the plans. The visit was first reported by Reuters.
The visit aims to explore the potential reopening of the Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO), a forum established in 1996 to foster trade and investment between the UK and China but largely dormant since 2020 following China’s imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong.
The trip places the Labour government in a delicate position. While Labour seeks to strengthen economic ties with China to boost UK growth – with the Treasury reportedly focusing on financial services and clean energy – it also faces pressure to align with a potentially more hawkish stance towards China from the incoming US administration. President-elect Donald Trump’s previously stated intention to impose significant tariffs on Chinese imports could complicate the UK’s efforts.
Further complicating matters is a recent spying scandal involving businessman Yang Tengbo, who has links to Prince Andrew, leading to increased skepticism towards China among UK lawmakers.
Reeves’s visit will be the second by a UK cabinet minister to China since Labour’s victory in July’s general election, following Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s trip in October. This represents a shift from the previous Conservative government’s approach, with former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak labelling China “the greatest state-based threat to our economic security.”
Reeves is expected to be accompanied by a business delegation, including representatives from major financial institutions like HSBC and Standard Chartered.
