Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May during the G20 Summit on Sept. 4, 2016 in Hangzhou, China. (Photo : Getty Images)
British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday that she intends her security advisers to help review a delayed nuclear power investment deal from China--source of diplomatic tension between the two nations--as she arrived in the southern Chinese city of Hangzhou for the G20 summit.
May drew criticism from Beijing earlier in July for delaying a $24 billion project that would see French firm EDF build Britain's first new nuclear power plant in decades with the help of an $8 billion investment from China.
Speaking during her first official visit to China, May was asked whether she would ask the National Security Council (NSC) to look at the potential security implications of the deal.
"I will be doing exactly as you've said which is--as you know, I'll be looking at all the evidence around this issue," May replied.
Although the NSC is not expected to conduct a formal review process on the nuclear power project, the comment marked the first official acknowledgement that national security advice would be a factor in her decision.
The initial delay caught investors by surprise and has cast doubt over whether May, who assumed office in July following the U.K.'s landmark vote to leave the European Union, will continue to court China as a major source of infrastructure investment.
"This is the way I operate," May earlier told reporters en route to the summit, which will include a personal meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"I look at the evidence . . . take the advice and consider that and come to my decision."
May said a final decision will be announced later this month,
A former British cabinet official told Reuters that May, a former interior minister, is wary of the risks of allowing China to invest in nuclear projects in the country. The EDF deal is viewed as a precursor to Chinese involvement in another two nuclear plants.
When asked whether she trusted China, May said: "Of course we have a relationship with them... What I want to do is build on that relationship."
She also stressed the need to expand the group of nations that the U.K. can trade with and tap for cash to help rejuvenate its power, transport, and technology infrastructure.
"This is the G20, this is about talking to a number of world leaders. I'm going to give the message that Britain is very much open for business," May said. "I want to be talking about the opportunities for free trade around the world."
