Britain looks as if it is “going with a begging bowl, not with a trading deal”

The Chancellor Ms Reeves met Vice-Premier He Lifeng in Beijing.

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves insists she's won £600m of trade deals as critics slam her for going on controversial China trip with a 'begging bowl', ‘The Daily Mail’ notes.

Rachel Reeves defended her controversial trip to China as critics accused her of going with a 'begging bowl'.

The Chancellor said agreements reached in meetings in Beijing would be worth £600 million to the UK over the next five years.

She said she wants a long-term relationship with China that is 'squarely in our national interest'.

She had been accused of being 'missing in action' over refusing to cancel her China trip amid government borrowing costs hitting a 16-year high and a fall in the value of the pound.

Speaking during a tour of UK bike maker Brompton's store in Beijing, Ms Reeves insisted she would not change her economic plans. She said:

'That's why I'm in China to unlock tangible benefits for British businesses exporting and trading around the world to ensure we have greater access to the second-largest economy in the world.'

Ms Reeves is the first Chancellor to visit China since 2019. She met Vice-Premier He Lifeng in Beijing, discussing trade and investment opportunities as part of efforts to grow the British economy and raise living standards.

Following the talks, the Treasury said both countries had agreed to deeper co-operation in trade, financial services, investment and on climate issues.

But Tory MP and former security minister Tom Tugendhat said: 'She's going at a time when her Budget has sacked the economy, we have got debt rates going up and she looks as if she's going with a begging bowl, not with a trading deal.

'That's a real problem because it makes the UK look more vulnerable, and others around the world will see it too.'

Britain is in rags. The Chancellor goes to China to ask for money!

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