RELATIONS between the United Kingdom and China are at a “crucial historical juncture” because of doubts and delays over Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, the Chinese ambassador to the UK revealed this week.

The intervention by Ambassador Liu Xiaoming came after the Government’s decision to delay final approval of the £18 billion project which is receiving major financial support from China.

Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a last-minute halt to finalising the project only hours after the board of French energy giant EDF gave it the final go-ahead in July.

“Right now the UK-China relationship is at a crucial historical juncture,” the ambassador wrote in a Financial Times article in which he put the Hinkley project at the centre of the UK’s evolving trade relationship with China.

He added: “Mutual trust should be treasured even more. I hope the UK will keep the door open and that the British Government will continue to support Hinkley Point – and come to a decision as soon as possible so that the project can continue smoothly.”

The ambassador said that safety and security of the plant was ensured by the UK’s regulatory authorities and China’s record of 30 years of nuclear safety.

He said Chinese companies had invested more in the UK than in Germany, France and Italy combined over the past five years and it “has not been easy” for China and the UK to come this far.

“As long as both sides cherish what has been achieved and continue to expand and deepen our co-operation across the board, bilateral relations will maintain their strong momentum and work for the wellbeing of both the Chinese and British people.”

Meanwhile, French unions said this week that EDF’s decision to invest in Hinkley Point should be declared invalid.

Three unions at the French state-owned company claimed that board members knew the British Government was considering delaying its final decision on Hinkley but nothing was said before the EDF vote to back the project.

Unions said they believed that the board’s approval – by 10 votes to seven – should be overturned: “We consider that the board’s Hinkley Point decision, taken on the basis of incomplete information, is null and void.”

But EDF chairman Jean-Bernard Levy said this week that he had not been aware of any UK Government plan to push back the decision to autumn.

EDF said it only knew that a signing ceremony, planned for the day after the boardroom vote, was to be delayed.