Britain and China must ‘stick together’ through the ‘ups and downs’ according to George Osborne. The Chancellor is currently touring China to drum up support for a ‘bridge’ with the City of London, as well as attempting to reassure the markets. On the Today programme, Osborne said he is pursuing a close relationship because it will create ‘jobs and investment in Britain’ — but he is not ignoring the human rights concerns either:
‘This is primarily an economic and financial dialogue but of course we’re two completely difficult political systems and we raise human rights issues but I don’t think it’s inconsistent to do more business with more than one fifth of the world’s population.’
The Chancellor explained that he believes it’s better to engage with China instead of heckling from the side lines:
‘China is an incredibly partner for us – not just when it comes to economic development and there are so many tens of thousands of British jobs that depend on our business with China.
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