UK's Reeves seeks 'common ground' with China on trade ties

By Andy Bruce

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves will try to build "common ground on trade and investment" during a trip to China this weekend, the Treasury said on Saturday, in the latest move by the government to thaw ties with Beijing.

Reeves, who will join a UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue meeting in Beijing with her Chinese counterpart Vice Premier He Lifeng on Saturday and then later travel to Shanghai, is being accompanied by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.

She is due to discuss financial services, trading ties and the importance of cooperation on issues like climate change, the Treasury said.

Her appearance offers a chance to persuade investors that she has plans to deal with a sharp increase in British government borrowing costs, due in part to a global bond selloff which threatens to derail her budget plans.

The meeting follows a dialogue opened last year between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Xi Jinping, the first between the two countries' leaders since 2018.

"By finding common ground on trade and investment while being candid about our differences and upholding national security as the first duty of this government, we can build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest," Reeves said in a statement.

The approach taken by the Labour government, elected in July, contrasts with the previous Conservative administration which took a robust approach to differences with China - particularly over human rights, Hong Kong and allegations of Chinese espionage.

Asked on Thursday if Reeves would raise human-rights issues, Starmer's spokesperson said her visit would fit with London's stance that it would take a strategic approach to China and challenge it "robustly" when necessary.

Starmer has long described his desire to build a relationship with China that is "rooted in the UK's national interests" by boosting trade, a task that may become more difficult if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose tariffs on all imports.

China is Britain's fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for goods and services trade worth almost 113 billion pounds ($138 billion).

($1 = 0.8162 pound)

(Reporting by Andy Bruce and Elizabeth Piper in London
Editing by Matthew Lewis)

((andy.bruce@thomsonreuters.com; +442075134461; Reuters Messaging: @brucereuters))