Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will seek to lay the groundwork for a post-Brexit free trade deal when he meets Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May at the G20 today.
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Mrs May’s face-to-face talks with President Xi come at the conclusion of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, where the Prime Minister has sought to win support for the United Kingdom as it prepares for life outside the European Union.
The prime minister is in China for the G20 leaders’ summit where US President Barack Obama met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss security and economic issues.
The Prime Minister will give her verdict on the £18 billion project later this month, with security implications and the high cost of the energy produced by the Somerset plant among the concerns raised by critics about the scheme.
She is also expected to have a brief discussion with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Mrs May told him: “It is a historic decision for British people”.
An global court last month rejected China’s claim over the maritime territory and Australia has angered China by supporting USA freedom of navigation exercises within waters claimed by Beijing.
“Prime Minister May and I are very committed to having an early free trade agreement put in place so that when Britain leaves the European Union, we have very open markets between Australia and Britain”, Turnbull told reporters on the sidelines of a G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. “And obviously, Australia, with our long-standing ties and our close relationship, will be one of the first countries we will be looking to”.
“China has more freedom to invest in Australia, indeed all foreigners have more freedom to invest in Australia, than in nearly any other country”.
President Xi told the opening of the summit a spirit of unity and partnership eight years ago had pulled the world economy back from the precipice.
The Prime Minister said the delay was down to “the way I operate” because she wanted a fresh look at the evidence for the power plant.
Addressing business chiefs attending the B20 meeting, Mr Turnbull said political leaders needed to do more to restore public trust in economic reform, open markets and free trade to counter rising calls for protectionism.
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Mrs May also held talks with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in Hangzhou.
