UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is engaged in talks that could accelerate China’s involvement in Britain’s renewables sector.

Mr Miliband is in Beijing to meet Chinese ministers primarily to discuss reducing the country’s emissions. He will also raise issues such as human rights in Hong Kong and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

However, there is keen interest in investment links between the two countries and how far Mr Miliband may go in enabling China to step up its interest in the UK energy secretary.

China is both the world’s largest investor and supplier of renewable energy and there has been speculation that the developers behind Green Volt, Europe’s first large-scale floating wind farm in the North Sea, have selected Chinese company Mingyang as its turbine supplier. 

Critics have expressed fears that it would be a step towards handing China too much influence over the UK’s energy security while the the Ministry of Defence raised concerns that the floating structures could be used as spy sensors.

Ed Miliband’s own Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has previously warned that China could switch off power plunging homes and oil rigs into darkness.

Green Volt has insisted that no decision has been taken on a turbine supplier.

The UK has invited Chinese ministers to London later this year to continue climate talks, after a formal dialogue is launched with Beijing this week, in hopes of co-operation on newer technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.

This formal partnership will also enable the UK to engage with the country on energy security concerns and challenge it on areas of disagreement, the government has said.

Andrew Bowie, shadow energy minister, said: “Ed’s dirty secret is that his mad dash towards his Net Zero targets is forcing Brits to pay billions of pounds to import critical minerals, batteries, and solar panels made in coal-powered China – all in the name of tackling climate change.”