Philip Hammond will head to China this weekend alongside top policymakers and businesses to fly the flag for Britain and lay the groundwork for post-Brexit trade deals.

The Chancellor will attend the two-day “One Belt, One Road” forum in Beijing starting on Sunday, which will showcase China President Xi Jinping’s initiative to forge new trade networks between Europe and Asia.

Mr Hammond will be joined by representatives from the City of London, including officials at HSBC, Standard Chartered, law firm Linklaters and consultancy giant KPMG, as well as 28 heads of state from around the world.

The Chancellor, who is attending the summit in place of Theresa May, the Prime Minister, is due to attend a series of multilateral meetings and will fly to Beijing after a G7 summit in Bari, Italy.