UK finance minister begins China visit amid govt bond crisis [Video]

British finance minister Rachel Reeves began a visit to China on Saturday, seeking to revive dialogue with the world’s number two economy as UK borrowing costs soar.

Reeves, whose formal title is Chancellor of the Exchequer, is the most senior British government official to visit China since then-prime minister Theresa May held talks with President Xi Jinping seven years ago.

Reeves’s trip comes as the yield on UK government bonds reached a 17-year high this week, further complicating the ruling Labour Party’s sputtering efforts to revitalise growth.

The increase makes it more costly for the government to finance current operations and repay debt, raising risks it will have to make spending cuts or hike taxes.

Reeves on Saturday acknowledged “moves in global financial markets over the last few days”, but said the fiscal rules she set out in her October budget were “non-negotiable”.

“Growth is the number one mission of …