Britain trumpets welcome to Chinese When David Cameron makes his long-awaited trip to Beijing, he will proudly trumpet a simple message: Britain is open to Chinese investment. The prime minister is hoping to take up an invitation from Xi Jinping, China's president, before the end of the year to build on the deals announced during a visit by George Osborne last week. The chancellor's agreement for two state-owned Chinese companies to take a 30-40 per cent stake in the planned Hinkley Point nuclear plant cemented the UK's reputation in Beijing as the most open western economy for Chinese investors. Mr Osborne also announced measures to make it easier for Chinese banks to operate in London and visited the headquarters of Huawei, the telecoms equipment group, to champion its investments in the UK. Britain's openness contrasts with the more cautious approach taken by other developed countries, including the US, which has excluded Huawei from its telecoms industry amid concerns over cyber security. Mr Cameron believes the UK can embrace Chinese investment without compromising national interests. Officials say that, while the prime minister will take an unashamedly "open for business" message to Beijing, it will come with a caveat. The government is relying on regulators to expose Chinese investors to scrutiny over any security, safety and financial stability issues that arise. Mark Carney, Bank of England governor, on Thursday stressed that Mr Osborne's invitation to Chinese banks to make the City their home - including the possibility of establish a renminbi clearing bank in London - did not amount to a regulatory free-for-all. "Helping the internationalisation of the renminbi is a global good, consistent with London's historic role," Mr Carney told a Financial Times 125th birthday event in London. But rest assured that the bank will act in a manner consistent with our domestic responsibilities Our risk appetite for foreign branches will largely be determined by whether their activities in the UK are covered by credible recovery and resolution plans. The caution of Mr Carney suggests an emerging "good cop, bad cop" division of labour between cheerleading ministers and regulators. Although restrictions apply to foreign ownership of defence and media interests, there is no UK equivalent to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (Cfius) which has blocked investments from China and the Gulf. "We don't like to ban foreign investment," says one UK official, who admitted that countries such as the US and France marvel at Britain's openness. The stake taken by China General Nuclear Corporation and China National Nuclear Corporation in Hinkley Point attracted barely a flicker of political controversy. Although Mr Cameron's national security council has discussed energy security issues, ministers are more concerned about an over-reliance on a single source of energy or supplier, not foreign stakes in individual projects. "We can't see any reason why China would have an interest in running the power station badly or dangerously," said one ministerial adviser. Andrew Large, a nuclear adviser, claims Chinese companies would find "considerable difficulties" in working under a nuclear safety regime imposed by an independent British regulator. But the £16bn Hinkley project is evidence of the government's strategy of taking the money and then putting faith in regulators to ensure that an investment complies with British standards. Perhaps the most contentious Chinese investment to date is by Huawei as part of a BT upgrade of its telecoms infrastructure. The regulatory system put in place to oversee Huawei's operations has been criticised by a parliamentary committee but it is now too late: the Chinese company was feted by ministers and its equipment is now integral to Britain's digital networks. But Mr Osborne's visit also raised criticism on another front: that while he was flinging open the doors to China, he was failing to secure reciprocal access for British companies in areas such as telecoms, banking, automobiles and energy. John Cridland, head of the CBI employers" federation, said: "The principle of a level playing field is important and we must keep pushing for more openness. But it's not a showstopper. And then there is the question of human rights. Mr Cameron has already said he has no plans to meet the Dalai Lama again and his planned visit to China is unlikely to focus on the situation on the Tibetan plateau or among the Uighurs of Xinjiang. Or, as Boris Johnson, London mayor, described the niceties of British trade diplomacy on his visit to China this month: "I don't walk into a meeting and say, "I say, you chaps, how's freedom doing?" " Additional reporting by Sam Fleming and Daniel Thomas The sensitive sectors Telecoms Technology supplied by the China's Huawei is found throughout UK digital infrastructure, while the company's attempt to enter the US market in 2008 was thwarted by Congress, write Daniel Thomas, Guy Chazan and Sam Fleming. Britain's more open approach has provoked concern in parliament's intelligence and security committee, which criticised the scrutiny of an original deal between BT and Huawei. The Chinese company's equipment and software are tested in a cyber security centre in Banbury, which is staffed by British security-cleared experts led by a former deputy director of GCHQ, the government's listening post. Even so, senior MPs and peers said last year they were surprised that the staff were paid for and managed by the Chinese group. Nuclear energy Ministers concluded that allowing Chinese companies to make a 30-40 per cent investment in the £16bn Hinkley Point nuclear power station, to be built by France's EDF, was a "comparative no brainer," according to one person close to the decision. But John Large, a former research fellow at the UK Atomic Energy Agency, is among those to express concern: "We don't know at the moment whether the Chinese will be operating the plant or showcasing their equipment," he said. I don't think Chinese equipment would be up to scratch. David Cameron welcomed the Chinese investment and his aides point out that British safety regulations will apply to the building and operation of the plant. Financial services George Osborne's offer to open the City to Chinese banks and bolster London's position as a renminbi trading hub irritated US bankers and led to complaints that Beijing was being offered a special deal. But City regulators, led by Bank of England governor Mark Carney, have insisted that Chinese banks will only be able to open branches in London under tight conditions and with no special privileges. Andrew Bailey, head of the Prudential Regulatory Authority, said discussions with Chinese banks were consistent with regulatory policy. He said a bank from outside the European economic area that wanted to open a branch in London would have to "stick to wholesale banking" and would not be allowed to take deposits.