Now Rishi Sunak wants to have his cake and eat it with China

Sunak has said the UK must bolster its economic ties with China, while continuing ‘to take a principled stand on issues we judge to contravene our values’. James Moore explains why that isn’t possible

The chancellor at the Mansion House in the City of London on Thursday (Reuters)

Having flounced out of the EU, Britain is on the hunt for new friends and especially business partners.

Speaking before an audience of City folk at the Mansion House on Thursday, Rishi Sunak confirmed that the government has failed to secure an equivalence deal that would have granted them access to the EU financial services marketplace.

None too keen on being reliant on a third country, the bloc wants to boost its own financial centres. You can hardly blame it. It is clearly in its interests to do so.