Britain and China eye stock connect, nuclear and rail deals

Speaking on the second of a five day visit to China, Chancellor George Osborne said Britain would be Beijing’s “best partner in the West”.

He said the recent market turmoil in China was no reason for Britain not to engage more deeply with the world’s second-largest economy.

Mr Osborne wants more Chinese investment in Britain, and has championed London’s bid to become the dominant centre for offshore yuan trading in Europe. He said connecting the London and Shanghai stock markets would benefit Britain in the long run.

“It’s in our interests that we have deeper and more mature financial markets across the world,” Mr Osborne told reporters, when asked whether a stock market link would put Britain at risk of contagion from future bouts of volatility in China.

“Britain should run towards China. We should be doing more business with China.

“We should be better connected to the Chinese economy, our financial institutions should establish stronger links.”

The announcement follows the November launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Connect scheme, which allows foreigners to trade Shanghai shares from Hong Kong, and domestic Chinese investors to trade Hong Kong shares from Shanghai.