Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves in the fourth quarter of 2024 deployed Treasury officials to hold talks with their counterparts in Hong Kong to explore improving economic relations, according to the people, who asked for anonymity discussing behind-the scenes negotiations.
The meetings took place against the backdrop of former media tycoon Jimmy Lai testifying for the first time in a landmark national security trial in Hong Kong in November, in which he denied allegations that he colluded with foreign governments against China. That same month, a Hong Kong court sentenced the legal scholar Benny Tai to 10 years in prison, the longest sentence ever meted out using a China-imposed security law. Former youth activist Joshua Wong got four years and eight months, with sentences handed down to 45 defendants.