A package of deals was announced this week between China and the UK, the total value of which was variously calculated by the government at ￡25bn, ￡30bn or ￡40bn

A package of deals was announced this week between China and the UK, the total value of which was variously calculated by the government at ￡25bn, ￡30bn or ￡40bn

Downing Street has refused to explain the maths behind these totals, suggesting it will do so only once Xi Jinping, Chinese president, has returned to Beijing at the end of the week. However, the Financial Times has examined some of the biggest announcements

They say: “Chinese investment to build two new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. Hinkley Point C will generate a stable source of clean power to nearly 6m homes, and will provide up to 25,000 employment opportunities. In operation, Hinkley Point C will employ around 900 permanent staff.”

FT verdict: The deal is between one foreign company, EDF, and another, China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN). It should pave the way for the Chinese to spend ￡6bn on construction of the project, although some of this will come from debt rather than equity

It also seems that Mr Cameron may have included the entire ￡18bn project — of which ￡12bn is from EDF — in his ￡40bn overall figure for deals

They say: “Citic, a major state-owned Chinese investment group, will become the main contractor for the Royal Albert Docks regeneration project. The project is worth ￡1.7bn and Citic is taking 40 per cent equity.”

FT verdict: Citic is only a junior equity partner in the scheme, taking a 40 per cent stake in an investment group that owns 25 per cent of the dock. The site developer ABP (China) Holdings has also been negotiating — so far unsuccessfully — to raise money from another group, China Minsheng

The value of the construction work will be limited because Citic is expected to take on a UK partner, such as Mace or Laing O’Rourke. While ABP expects the entire project to cost ￡1.7bn, the first phase is only an estimated ￡300m. The second and third phases only have outline planning permission

They say: “Carnival UK and CSSC agreed a ￡2.6bn 50:50 joint venture to buy or build seven cruise ships over the next 10 years.”

FT verdict: The statement from the company referred not to “Carnival UK” but to “Carnival Corporation and plc”, which is a global business listed in both New York and London. It is joining up with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and China Investment Corporation (CIC). The ships will fly the British flag, pay UK tonnage tax and be insured in London — supporting hundreds of UK jobs. Any new ships built will be assembled in China but will have British components. Yet Carnival’s headquarters are in Miami, Florida

They say: “The UK-listed oil group and China Huadian Corporation today signed a sale-and-purchase agreement for BP to sell Huadian up to 1m tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year worth up to ￡6.5bn over the next 20 years. Also, BP and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) entered into a framework agreement on co-operation covering potential shale gas exploration and production in the Sichuan Basin, future fuel retailing ventures in China, and other partnerships.”

FT verdict: Sounds impressive but the ￡6.5bn is only achieved over 20 years. Technically this is not an investment but a market value placed on future LNG supply

They say: “Rolls-Royce is today announcing a deal with HNA Group to provide Trent 700 engines to power 20 Airbus A330s. Rolls-Royce and HNA Group have also agreed a TotalCare package for a further nine Trent 700 engines and 15 Trent XWB engines.”

FT verdict: A genuinely new deal providing engines and services to HNA Group, a conglomerate that operates airlines including Hainan, Tianjin and Capital

They say: “LTC’s parent ... Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, also announced its intention to invest an additional ￡50m in its state-of-the-art greenfield production facility in Ansty, Warwickshire, to turn the site into the group’s UK R&D headquarters. This will bring total investment in the new site to ￡300m.”

FT verdict: A whiff of déjà vu. In March, Geely said it would invest ￡250m in its new plant at Ansty. The announcement raised that figure to ￡300m