George Osborne embarked on Tuesday night on a controversial trade mission to Urumqi in the far north-west of China, amid concern that he risked turning a blind eye to Beijing’s treatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population.
Mr Osborne wants Britain to win construction contracts in Urumqi and the surrounding Xinjiang region, as Beijing builds a development corridor along a 21st-century Silk Road connecting China with Europe.
The chancellor set a target of making China Britain’s biggest trading partner after the US by 2025, replacing Germany, an ambitious target that even Treasury officials admit will be a “challenge”.
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