There is, it seems, no limit to the lengths to which George Osborne, the UK chancellor, is prepared to go to please China. The most recent example is the latest chapter in the saga of the proposed Hinkley Point nuclear power plant in south-west England. Mr Osborne, on a visit to Beijing, has offered the Chinese £2bn of government guarantees in return for their investment in the much delayed project.
The terms of the agreement have not been published but under normal definitions that means that the Chinese investment capital will be fully protected. The deal is not yet completed and there is a sense of desperation in Whitehall: the government wants to have it signed before President Xi Jinping’s visit to the UK next month.
But before we rush to sign, there should be public disclosure of the full offer to the Chinese on Hinkley Point, and what other deals have been made at the same time. We are told, for example, that the Chinese will also build, own and operate another new nuclear station at Bradwell in Essex, south-east England. Will they, for example, be required to meet all existing UK nuclear safety and labour standards or will the new stations be largely built in China using local labour and assembled in the UK?