Brexit dogs May as she eyes ‘golden era’ of ties to China
Massive solar farm planned by US firm
PRIME Minister Theresa May touted yesterday a “golden era” of Sino-British relations with deeper trade ties after Britain leaves the European Union, but her visit to Beijing was dogged by a Brexit row at home.
As she embarked on a three-day visit to the Asian giant, May batted away critics of her leadership on Brexit and domestic issues, including within her Conservative party.
“First and foremost, I’m serving my country and my party. I’m not a quitter and there’s a long-term job to be done,” she told reporters travelling with her.
The House of Lords is scrutinising a key piece of legislation on quitting the EU as a leaked government report shows only economic downsides to leaving the bloc.
May discussed Brexit with Premier Li Keqiang when they met at the imposing Great Hall of the People, where both leaders boasted about their “golden era” of relations and the potential for trade ties.
“We are determined to deepen our trading relationship even further and we are ambitious for what our future trade relationship will be,” May said.
The British leader said more than £9 billion ($12.7 billion) in business deals will be signed during her visit.
The two countries also launched a joint trade and investment review to “identify priorities” on goods, services and investment, she said.
The two sides also agreed new measures to improve access to the Chinese market and remove trade barriers, including making progress on allowing British beef exports.
In a nod to her hosts, May said “we welcome the opportunities” provided by China’s cherished Belt and Road initiative, a massive infrastructure project aimed at reviving ancient Silk Road trade routes between the East and West and creating greater market access for Chinese companies.
But she threw in a caveat, saying the two countries would continue to work together on how to ensure that the endeavour “meets international standards”.
Touting that Sino-British relations “don’t have winter, only spring”, Li said their ties would not be affected by Brexit.
“Brexit is a situation that both our countries face,” he said.
“Our bilateral relationship will not change with the changes of UK relations. We will have assessment and discussion on our trade relationship to make our economic and trade relationship move forward.”
May, who will hold talks with Presi- dent Xi Jinping today and finish her visit on Friday in the eastern business hub of Shanghai, was under pressure to address thorny issues with China.
Before her trip, the former British governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, urged May to address concerns about the political situation in the semi-autonomous city, which London handed back to Beijing in 1997.
In a letter to May’s Downing Street office, Patten said Hong Kong was facing “increasing threats to the basic freedoms, human rights and autonomy” which its people were promised after the handover.
Human Rights Watch also urged the British leader to “get tough with China” on rights. But business is the focus of her trip.
“The UK and China will not always see eye-to-eye,” she wrote in a Financial Times column.
“But as partners committed to global free trade we can work together to confront and tackle challenges that affect all of our economies.”
Britain has said it will leave the EU’s single market and customs union so that it can strike its own trade deals with countries outside the bloc, making China’s huge market an attractive target.
In preparation, a number of British officials have travelled to China in recent months. Trade minister Liam Fox discussed market access for British exports, including its key financial services sector. US-BASED solar energy developer Omni Navitas announced a plan to set up a $500 million, 150-megawatt solar energy farm in Cambodia, which CEO Jim McAuliffe said would make it the largest solar farm in Southeast Asia by capacity.
After meeting with McAuliffe yesterday, Chhuon Dara, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce, welcomed the launch of the renewable energy project.
“We support this initiative and will provide facilitation on this investment project, especially because it is a clean energy project,” he said. “If they can sell the electricity to the government at the same price as the existing power plants, it will be a great help.”
In his comments to local media after the meeting, McAuliffe said his company would need about 500 hectares of land to build the solar farm, estimating the construction process alone would employ 3,000 local workers.
“We are here to propose one of the largest solar projects in Southeast Asia for Cambodia,” he said yesterday. “We want to bring in over $500 million of [foreign direct investment] into Cambodia . . . We hope that we will open the door for more US investment in Cambodia.”
McAuliffe did not provide details about the location of the project and did not immediately reply to additional questions yesterday. A man who was translating McAuliffe’s comments for journalists and who identified himself as a representative of a Cambodian firm that was participating in the project said the solar farm would be built in Koh Kong province.
McAuliffe told reporters yesterday he planned to meet with the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) and had already negotiated potential prices for electricity with state-run Electricite du Cambodge (EDC), though there was no agreement yet.
Spokespeople for the Ministry of Mines and Energy, EDC and CDC could not be reached yesterday.