China is to take a one-third stake in a French-led project to build the first in a new generation of UK nuclear power plants, investing billions of pounds under a landmark commercial deal to be announced on Wednesday.
Its decision to take a 33.5 per cent share in the proposed £24bn Hinkley Point power station in Somerset follows months of negotiations with French energy group EDF, which will lead the project and fund the rest of the construction bill.
There will be no other investors after Saudi Arabia backed out. EDF is expected to sell €10bn of assets over the coming five years as it shores up its balance sheet and prepares to build up to three nuclear projects in the UK with its Chinese partners.