EDF Energy has reached an agreement with China's CGN to build a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset, with the deal formally sealed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his state visit to the UK.
EDF says that the final cost will be £18bn and China's CGN will pay £6bn for a one-third stake, with a further 15% stake in the project possibly put up for sale in the future.
More than £30bn worth of deals between the UK and China are expected to be struck during the four-day visit by President Xi Jinping and the EDF Energy agreement also sets up a wider UK partnership to develop new nuclear power stations at Sizewell and Bradwell.
While they have reached Strategic Investment Agreements for all three plants, only Hinkley has a target date - it is supposed to start generating in 2025.
The Hinkley Point project has come under fire over its cost and the delays to investment decisions and the timetable for building. The government has also been criticised for guaranteeing a price of £92.50 per megawatt hour of electricity - more than twice the current cost - for the electricity Hinkley produces.
Greenpeace claims the price guarantee could mean higher bills for consumers, although the government insists that 25,000 jobs will be created and enough energy to power six million homes.
The Treasury hopes that within 10 years China will be Britain's second biggest trading partner. However, the state visit comes amid job losses in the UK steel sector, with cheap Chinese imports among the factors being blamed.
Tata Steel has announced the latest in a series of cuts, with 1,200 jobs going at its plants in Scunthorpe and Lanarkshire.
