The UK has opened the way for China to build the first Chinese-designed nuclear power plant in the west, saying Beijing could use Britain as a launch pad for a global rollout of its atomic technology.

Amber Rudd, energy secretary, said she wanted Beijing to take the lead in developing new nuclear plants in Britain. She said China was expected to lead the construction of a Beijing-designed nuclear plant in Essex, in eastern England, its first in the west, under a proposed joint deal with French energy group EDF to build a new generation of UK reactors.

“They very much want to have their design up and running in the UK,” she told the Financial Times on a visit to Beijing. “That’s because we have such tough standards of regulation everyone can have confidence they are safe and show that they have a great operation to take elsewhere.”