While there may be good reasons for concern about the Hinkley Point reactor's viability, May bobbled relations with China

British Prime Minister Theresa May is playing with fire over the Hinkley Point nuclear project fiasco, risking the alienation of China over her apparently abrupt decision to defer approval of the project until September.

The stakes are high - ever since President Xi Jinping's state visit in October last year, Britain and China have entered what both sides agree is a "golden age", with Chinese investors ready to plough 40 billion pounds ($51.8 billion; 46.5 billion euros) into projects here, including 6 billion pounds toward the 18 billion pound price tag of Hinkley Point.

So as the diplomatic row, predictably, deepens, it's time to look at a few undeniable facts, which may help to push toward a solution that saves face all round and satisfies both proponents and critics.

The reactor planned for Hinkley Point will be built by France's EDF, to a design that has not yet successfully entered service - the one at Flammanville, in France, has been beset by problems and delays.

China's CGN is a financial investor in the Hinkley project, for which no Chinese designs are planned. The potential agreement will, as far as we can tell, include a commitment for China to build two of its smaller reactors at Bradwell, in Essex, a project that will have financial and technical assistance from EDF. The main gain for China would be international recognition for its reactor designs, given that British criteria are among the strictest in the world.

Another undeniable fact is that Britain needs to augment its power supply, with other nuclear generators nearing the end of their useful lives. Hinkley Point will provide enough power for 7 million households.

Much has been made in the British media of the questions of security, with unproven allegations that China could write code into any computer program for the project software that would give it effective control over a strategic British asset.

That is nonsense. China is a friend. And the concept of foreign powers being involved in key British infrastructure is not exactly new - France, with whom Britain fought a series of bloody wars into the 19th century, has massive investments, if not outright ownership, of transport, power and water projects in the UK. Likewise Germany.

So please, enough of the xenophobia. We live in a globalized world.

I think it is safe to say that Britain's new Conservative government, installed after David Cameron quit as prime minister after losing the referendum on continued EU membership, is eager to forge ever-closer ties with China, and that included the Hinkley Point project.

But there are other factors to consider.

Although France has been eager for the project to go ahead, much of the delay was down to the fact that EDF, already struggling financially, was having serious difficulty raising its share of the cash. Even now, according to the French media, the state-controlled firm's money men and the trade unions believe it is a project too far that could damage EDF.

Originally, France, Britain, China and EDF had set September as the deadline for the French company's board to agree. However, for reasons that are not entirely clear, the date was brought forward in a rush, without Britain, and presumably the Chinese, being told of the revised timetable.

At that point, May, known as a much more cautious politician than her predecessor, told French President Francois Hollande she wouldn't be rushed, and would adhere to the September timetable.

It must be said that much of the consequent angst could have been avoided if the British government had issued a more complete statement, rather than just a bald decision to review it. A discussion with the Chinese government would have helped, too.

What is clear is that there are doubts about the technical viability of the reactor, and the serious chance of cost overruns - when it was first mooted, the price tag was set at 9 billion pounds.

May's officials have doubts about the high tariff guarantees that have been set in the potential agreement.

And remember, this is only a memorandum of understanding at this stage.

So here, I humbly suggest, is the solution. Britain is not the power it once was, and it must recognize China's role on the world stage. In crude terms, China has the cash, Britain doesn't.

Working on the basis that you should never upset the man with the money, British officials should urgently seek to negotiate a deal with China, apologize for any perceived loss of face, if necessary scrapping the whole Hinkley Point project, and instead invite CGN to build its new, smaller reactors.

I would hope that China can see its way to taking a pragmatic approach.

That way, Britain gets the power resources it needs, China gets the international seal of approval on its new generation of nuclear generators, and France's EDF gets an honorable exit from what is proving to be a seriously expensive financial liability.

In other words, let common sense prevail.

The author is managing editor of China Daily European Bureau. Contact the writer at chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily European Weekly 08/19/2016 page11)