China has built up a stake of about 1 per cent in BP via a sovereign wealth fund. The stock market value of the stake is estimated to be about £1bn.

The move follows the purchase of 1.6 per cent in French oil company Total by China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Gordon Brown, the prime minister, on a visit to China in January urged the country's new $200bn sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp, to use London as a hub for its international operations, contrasting Britain's "open door" policy with protectionist signals from the US. ... Read full article