Antinuclear

London’s bankers the only UK beneficiaries of the China nuclear deal

the decision to involve Chinese companies – initially with EDF at Hinkley Point and then on their own at Bradwell and Sizewell – only makes sense if it is seen as part of a quid pro quo for the previously announced financial services deal.

They put the Chinese Communist Party and military at the heart of strategic infrastructure. They interlink the British and Chinese financial systems at a time when the latter is structurally weak, poorly regulated, and struggling with corruption.

Britain’s nuclear deal with China is a boon for bankers – and no one else, The Conversation, Jeffrey Henderson November 6, 2015 At first glance, it seems an almost inexplicable paradox. A right-wing British government has invited companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party – and in one case, the Chinese military – into the heart of the UK’s strategically vital energy infrastructure. The nuclear deal between Britain and China goes against the advice of the security services, the military and the US government.

So to explain this paradox, we must look carefully at another major deal in the British government’s flirtation with President Xi Jinping: the inter-penetration of the two countries’ financial services.

There would seem to be no possible connection between Chinese companies building and operating nuclear power stations in 2020s Britain and a curious political role created in 1571. But the fact that the Remembrancer, a representative of the City of London Corporation, is allowed to attend and monitor debates in the House of Commons, says much about Britain’s priorities.

When considering economic and budgetary policy, the Remembrancer is at hand to ensure that our elected representatives remember that, whatever other interests they might serve, the needs of financial services must be paramount. And the near-invisible hand of the Remembrancer seems recently to have been at work ensuring that Britain’s infrastructure is made accessible to Chinese state-owned companies.

London capital

London is at the heart of the matter. It is the focus for the country’s economic, cultural and political power. Its primacy has been sharpened as Britain’s elites are reproduced through the same private schools and universities, and operate within the same social networks. The state has emerged with a structural propensity to privilege the interests of London elites over all others.

The problem emerged at the end of the 17th century and continued for the next 260 years via the opportunities for financial and commercial speculation enabled by what was the British Empire. Gradually, the interests of financial services came to dominate economic policy formation………

Fast forward to November 2015 and we are still living with this legacy. In 2012, estimates of the wealth of Cabinet members suggested that 62% were very wealthy individuals whose family fortunes were largely wrapped up in financial and real estate speculation. In the current Cabinet, that is likely to be even more the case. And they belong to a Conservative Party that obtains a significant part of its funding from hedge funds and other City institutions………

the decision to involve Chinese companies – initially with EDF at Hinkley Point and then on their own at Bradwell and Sizewell – only makes sense if it is seen as part of a quid pro quo for the previously announced financial services deal.

Britain and China’s agreement to explore real-time linkages between the Shanghai and London stock exchanges offers an enticing glimpse of the future for City institutions as they hope that China’s economy will become an historically unprecedented financial services bonanza. They will get easier access to the Chinese market, while Chinese state-owned banks, such as the China Construction Bank, will join the Bank of China in being able to deal on the London stock exchange.

Should the bonanza materialise, it will offer the potential to seriously boost City profits. For the rest of the country, these deals point to a rather different future.

They put the Chinese Communist Party and military at the heart of strategic infrastructure. They interlink the British and Chinese financial systems at a time when the latter is structurally weak, poorly regulated, and struggling with corruption.

Worryingly, the Chinese financial system is also subject to very high levels of non-performing loans. With the onset of recession in the Chinese economy, that toxic debt risks becoming an ever greater problem. So, roll on the next – China-inspired and British-endorsed – economic collapse?………

To understand the reasons for all political-economic decisions, we have to strip away the mystery and ask: “Who wins and who loses?” With the China deal, it seems clear that whomever elses loses, the Remembrancer looks set to be the only real winner. https://theconversation.com/britains-nuclear-deal-with-china-is-a-boon-for-bankers-and-no-one-else-49413

November 6, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized