Britain remains committed to its "golden era" of trade with China, Theresa May has insisted as she welcomed talks aimed at bringing billions in Chinese investment to the North.

Philip Hammond is holding talks with the Chinese vice premier Ma Kai to "deepen" the trading relationship and discuss investment.

The two-day visit by the Chinese delegation will be seen as an attempt to put the relationship between Mrs May's government and Beijing back on a level keel, after the row over the Hinkley nuclear deal.

Mrs May and Mr Hammond both talked of a "golden era" of relations, in a show the Government intends to continue the courting of Chinese investment started by David Cameron and George Osborne.

The phrase was used by the former prime minister during the Chinese state visit in 2015 to describe the ties between the two countries.


Image: David Cameron with Xi Jinping in 2015

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Mrs May welcomed the eighth UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, saying: "I am determined that as we leave the European Union, we build a truly global Britain that is open for business.

"As we take the next step in this golden era of relations between the UK and China, I am excited about the opportunities for expanding trade and investment between our two countries."

The visit will be used to showcase 13 infrastructure and property schemes that are part of Mr Osborne's Northern Powerhouse legacy.

It is hoped the £5bn Northern Powerhouse investment portfolio will attract significant Chinese funding.

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There had been suggestions that Mrs May was trying to unpick the plans for a Northern Powerhouse but she has insisted it remains part of a regional investment strategy.

Mr Hammond said: "The golden era in UK China relations continues to deepen. With our complementary bilateral trade ties, China and the UK remain natural partners and building on this relationship will form the cornerstone of this year's dialogue."

The two will also announce that Chinese contractor CITIC Construction will invest £200m in the first phase of a £1.7bn London Royal Albert Docks project.

In turn the UK will invest up to £40m in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank based in Beijing.