LONDON (AP) – China’s state visit to Britain moves from warm toasts and ceremony to cold, hard cash Wednesday, with business deals including a major Chinese investment in the U.K.’s first nuclear power station since the 1980s.
President Xi Jinping is expected to sign an agreement that will lead to his country financing 30 percent of the cost of the Hinckley Point plant in southwest England. It is set to be completed by 2025 and will be built by Electricite de France and a group led by China’s state-owned nuclear company. EDF sought investors after it was unable to cover the cost of the deal alone.
The British government has agreed to underwrite 2 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) in Chinese financing to secure the deal and pave the way for majority Chinese ownership of a second nuclear plant planned for England’s southeast.
The deal has faced criticism from those who suggest Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron has been wooing the Chinese for trade deals while ignoring the country’s human rights record.
Xi has been welcomed with lavish ceremony on his visit, which began Tuesday with a day of pomp that culminated in a banquet at Buckingham Palace during which Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, toasted the Chinese leader.