UK PM’s spokesperson said that Britain is going to continue to seek a strong relationship with China.
Advertisement
She added that China “hopes that Britain can reach a decision as soon as possible, to ensure the project’s smooth implementation”.
Theresa May will continue to seek a strong relationship with China, Downing Street insisted despite claims the new Prime Minister has a “suspicious approach” to dealing with the country.
The plan by France’s EDF to build two reactors with financial backing from a Chinese state-owned company, China General Nuclear Power Corp, was championed by British Prime Minister Theresa May’s predecessor, David Cameron, as a sign of Britain’s openness to foreign investment.
The Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project in the United Kingdom, finalised by the previous David Cameron government had always been strongly backed by the British and French sides, Hua said.
But Ms May’s spokeswoman said it was natural for the incoming government to want to look at the plans in detail, adding that Britain still valued its ties with China.
China also has ambitions to build another nuclear power plant in Bradwell, Essex and Hinkley Point was seen as an important precursor to this.
In a statement to Reuters news agency, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said they had “noted” the decision.
Secondly, by halting a flagship program indicating the arrival of the China-UK Golden Era, as some British media reported, for suspicion towards Chinese investment, the British new government is actually running the risk of dampening the hard-won mutual trust with China.
Xinhua said the delay “not only draws queries from the worldwide community about its openness towards foreign investment, but also adds uncertainties to the “Golden Era” of China-UK ties”.
Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Liberal Democrat Vince Cable suggested May had a “general prejudice” against Chinese investment due to national security concerns.
Last year, Nick Timothy, now May’s joint chief of staff, said security experts were anxious the state-owned Chinese group would have access to computer systems that could allow it to shut down Britain’s energy production.
“However, what China can not understand is the “suspicious approach” that comes from nowhere to Chinese investment in making the postponement”, said an English-language commentary broadcast on Xinhua. Xinhua said people might think Britain was trying to erect a wall of protectionism.
Treasury Minister Lord Jim O’Neill, former Goldman Sachs chief, reportedly threatened to quit the government over May’s stance on China’s involvement in the nuclear plant project. But speculation is growing that China questions may be at the heart of the reassessment, it said.
Contractors on site at Hinkley Point C, May 2014.
Advertisement
The project has been criticised for committing British taxpayers to paying above-market rates for electricity for decades to come.
