LONDON, United Kingdom. The Chinese president is expected to put the seal later on China’s financial contribution to what would be the first UK nuclear power plant to be built in a generation.
The centrepiece of the deal will be Hinkley Point, in Somerset, where a £25bn plant could be opened by 2025.
China is expected to provide about 30% of the funding.
Xi Jinping is attending a meeting later with Prime Minister David Cameron, on the second day of his UK state visit.
More than £30bn of trade and investment deals between the UK and China are expected to be struck during the four-day visit.
Last month, Chancellor George Osborne visited China and secured a deal under which Beijing will invest in Hinkley Point.
The plant will be built by French energy firm EDF, in conjunction with a consortium led by Chinese state-owned nuclear company CGN.
Safety concerns
The project has come under fire for both its cost and delays to investment decisions and the timetable for building.
The government has been criticised for guaranteeing a price of £92.50 per unit of electricity – more than twice the current cost – for any electricity Hinkley produces.
That could mean higher bills for consumers, critics such as Greenpeace say.
The original plan was for Hinkley Point to start generating electricity by 2023 but there have been a number of delays.
Two other stations, at Sizewell in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex, could follow as part of the deal with China.
The government insists that 25,000 jobs will be created and enough energy to power six million homes.
But opponents have also raised security concerns about allowing China a central role in Britain’s nuclear future.
China’s role in another UK industry has also prompted criticism.
Mr Xi’s tour comes as Britain’s steel sector makes huge job cuts, with cheap Chinese imports among the factors being blamed.
On Monday Mr Xi met the UK’s most senior figures, the prime minister and the Queen.
Mr Xi said he believed his visit will lift UK-China relations to a “new height”.
The Treasury hopes that within 10 years China will be Britain’s second biggest trading partner.
On Tuesday Mr Xi will visit Imperial College London, accompanied by the Duke of York and Chancellor George Osborne, and attend a creative industries event with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. He will have talks at Downing Street with David Cameron and visit Chinese communications firm Huawei’s UK offices before a banquet hosted by the City of London at the Guildhall.
Credit: BBC
