China agrees one-third stake in British nuclear project
Country takes one-third stake in project, as UK business secretary promises agreements worth tens of billions of pounds during Xi's visit
China has agreed to take a one-third stake in French power giant EDF's £25 billion (HK$300 billion) next-generation nuclear project at Hinkley Point in Britain, French business daily said yesterday.
The deal came as President Xi Jinping embarked on a state visit to Britain to build closer business ties.
British business secretary Sajid Javid said Britain would announce tens of billions of pounds worth of business deals during this week's visit by Xi.
READ MORE: British businesses hope President Xi Jinping's visit will boost access to the Chinese market
"Alongside the Chinese visit this week we will also have an announcement of over £20 billion of business deals that will support jobs throughout the country," he told parliament.
The development came as a cut of 1,200 jobs at Tata Steel, announced on Monday, prompted an urgent parliamentary session. The company blamed the lay offs on a "flood of cheap imports, particularly from China", along with high electricity costs and the strong pound.
The British government is under pressure to raise the issue of China selling steel at a loss on world markets. Opposition lawmaker Kevin Brennan questioned how the British government could secure the future of its steel industry in the face of China selling steel at a loss on world markets.
Tata's decision comes only weeks after Sahaviriya Steel Industries announced the closure of its plant in Redcar, costing 2,200 jobs. Another firm, Caparo Industries, went into partial administration on Monday, threatening hundreds more jobs.
London had been looking to Xi's visit as an opportunity to seal the deal for Hinkley Point, two years after it first gave the green light for the project.
China would take a 33.5-per cent share in the construction of two reactors at Hinkley Point, southwestern England, in a deal signed by EDF with China General Nuclear Power Corporation and China National Nuclear Corporation, said.
The agreement also foresees the possibility of building a Chinese "Hualong" nuclear reactor at Bradwell, southeastern England, which is also owned by EDF's British offshoot EDF Energy. EDF declined to comment.
Alongside the Chinese visit this week we will also have an announcement of over £20 billion of business deals that will support jobs throughout the country
Hinkley Point would feature two European Pressurised Reactors, a third-generation reactor design considered the most advanced and safest, each with a capacity of 1.6 gigawatts.
The reactors are expected to be able to power five million homes, providing seven per cent of the country's electricity needs.
Though originally scheduled to go into service in 2023, EDF Energy's boss, Vincent de Rivaz, recently acknowledged the deadline was unlikely to be met because of the time taken to negotiate the investment.
said the new completion date would be 2025.
