British finance minister Rachel Reeves, facing criticism for travelling to China during financial market turmoil at home, said on Saturday that "pragmatic and predictable" relations with Beijing would help boost economic growth and trade.

The chancellor has been criticised for making the trip while the government is under pressure from rising borrowing costs.

Closer links with China are “crucial” for economic growth, Rachel Reeves has said. The Chancellor is in Beijing for talks on a closer trading relationship which she claims will boost Britain’s GDP by £1 billion as the Government attempts to mend relations with the world’s second-largest economy.