Theresa May has ordered security chiefs to review Britain’s dealings with China as she abandons George Osborne’s shameless love-in with Beijing. The new PM will ask top spooks to reassess the security threat posed by Chinese investments in the UK as she considers pulling the plug on Beijing-backed Hinkley Point. The Chinese Government are furious that the 18billion power station scheme could be ditched, and the diplomatic row overshadowed Mrs May’s arrival in China today for her first world summit as PM.
Downing Street was forced to deny it has become so paranoid about Chinese spying at the G20 summit that the PM and her staff have been advised to get dressed under their duvets in their hotel rooms.1
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However UK officials have been issued with special phone and email addresses for the duration of the two-day summit to reduce the risk of sensitive data being hacked.
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images 
Mrs May squirmed when she was asked if she trusts the Chinese government
And speaking to the Mirror ahead of showdown talks with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping tomorrow, Mrs May squirmed when asked directly if she trusts the Chinese Government.
Of course we have a relationship with them, we’re working with them, she replied.
And we have seen significant Chinese investment into the UK. What I want to do is build on that relationship but I also want here at the G20 to build on relationships with other countries.
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UK officials did not deny there will be a cooling of relations with China under Mrs May’s leadership as Britain seeks to arrange trade deals with other major Asian countries including Japan and South Korea as well as Beijing.
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UK officials did not deny there could be a cooling of relations with China
It is a far cry from former Chancellor Mr Osborne’s infamous love-in with Beijing which saw him roll out the red carpet for Chinese investment. Mrs May’s more cautious stance has been informed by her six years as Home Secretary where she received frequent briefings from top spooks about Chinese espionage against British targets. The new PM was careful not to abandon Mr Osborne’s pledge of a ‘golden age’ in UK-Chinese relations – but made clear there will be a more balanced approach towards UK relations across Asia in the future.
REUTERS/Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool 
David Cameron famously took the Chinese premier to his local pub
What’s happened over the last few years is the Government has built a new strategic partnership with China a golden era of relationships between the UK and China, Mrs May said.
Obviously I’ll be meeting President Xi and talking to him – and I’ll be meeting other world leaders as well and wanting to talk to them about the opportunities that we can develop between the UK and other countries.
We’ve already seen in the conversations I’ve had with some of these leaders their interest in talking to us about trading arrangements the Australians for example.
PA 
Mrs May has met a string of world leaders for the first time after touching down in China
Mrs May will tell President Xi he must wait for a final decision on the 18billion Hinkley Point project until her review is complete later this month. But expectation is mounting that the French and Chinese-backed plan to build a new 18billion nuclear power station in Somerset will be rewritten or torn up altogether. Mrs May insisted she has not yet come to any decision, adding: This is the way I operate. I don’t just come in and say ‘I’m going to take a decision’.
I actually look at the evidence, weigh up that evidence, take the advice, and then consider that and come to my decision.
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She spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for half an hour
That’s exactly the process I’m going through. I’ve said a decision will be taken in September and it will. The PM survived another awkward bilateral talk today relatively unscathed after her first sit-down meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Mrs May and the Russian President spoke for half an hour in a private room at the G20 summit to discuss the crisis in Syria and the frosty relations between London and Moscow.
It is understood the PM snubbed a plea from President Putin to soften Britain’s stance on the sanctions imposed on Russia following the invasion of the Crimea.
References
- ^ have been advised to get dressed under their duvets in their hotel rooms. (www.mirror.co.uk)