There’s a telling photograph of the chancellor which shows her sitting attentively, briefcase tucked on her chair, while the Chinese vice president holds forth in front of a classical landscape mural.

She went on: “Choosing not to engage with China is therefore no choice at all. The UK must engage confidently with China in areas of trade that benefit the UK’s national interest and be equally confident in expressing our real economic and trade concerns to the Chinese, including market access and wider market-distorting practices.”

Rachel Reeves, the UK Chancellor, embarks on a significant trade mission to China, aiming to bolster economic ties and explore investment opportunities. Her visit comes at a time when the UK economy faces challenges,

LABOUR MPs are turning fire on Rachel Reeves for cosying up to China as their cheap cars flood the UK. Blair McDougall slammed the Government for failing to impose tariffs on Chinese electric

Increases in the Government’s borrowing costs have sparked concern that the Chancellor will be unable to meet her debt and spending targets, requiring either tax rises or deeper spending cuts when she delivers a fiscal statement at the end of March.

Ms Reeves hailed the trip as a ‘significant milestone’ in Labour’s re-engagement with China, saying she had agreed deals worth £600 million over the next five years

Rachel Reeves's trip to China – the first by a British chancellor since 2019 - was always going to be controversial. In recent years Conservative governments have been keeping Beijing at arm's length - amid concern about espionage, the situation in Hong Kong, and the treatment of the Uyghurs.

The Treasury said a stable relationship with China would support economic growth - but critics said the chancellor should have stayed at home to address the market turmoil.

Exclusive: Former cabinet minister Sir Iain Duncan Smith said that the chancellor’s trip to Beijing was a desperate move ‘because she as trashed the economy’

Chancellor defends decision to travel to Beijing where she is seeking to revive relations that have been frozen since 2019

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will become the most senior British official to visit Beijing in 7 years this weekend as she embarks on a mission to deepen economic ties with China against the backdrop of UK market turmoil that threatens to undermine her plans to spur growth domestically.