Britain’s finance minister Philip Hammond scraps China trip amid plans to deploy new UK aircraft carrier to Pacific
- Plans to send a new aircraft carrier to the Pacific angered Beijing
- Hammond had been set to visit China for trade talks with senior government figures
Britain’s finance minister Philip Hammond has cancelled a trip to China, a government official said, a day after a Chinese official in London criticised Britain’s defence secretary for making a return to a “cold war mentality”.
The trip was to discuss issues affecting China-UK economic and financial relations. Hammond was expected to discuss plans for a stock market connection between the countries and wanted to fix a date for the postponed UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue.
“The chancellor is not travelling to China at this time,” a spokesperson for the Treasury said Saturday. “No trip was ever announced or confirmed.”
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson on Monday said in a speech that Britain’s new £3.1 billion (US$4 billion) aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth would be deployed to Asia on its maiden voyage and said China is “developing its modern military capability and its commercial power”.
Williamson said the deployment was a UK show-of-strength as China increasingly disputes the waters in the region.
