George Osborne on Sunday announced that the Beijing Construction Engineering Group had entered the ￡800m project to redevelop Manchester airport as the chancellor kicked off his five-day tour of China.

BCEG will join Carillion and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund to build a business district at the airport. It is the first of a series of deals that the chancellor is expected to unveil on a visit that Britain hopes will unlock a wave of Chinese investment in UK infrastructure.

Mr Osborne is also expected to sign a deal allowing a state-owned Chinese company to build nuclear power stations in the UK and have its reactor design approved by British regulators. Under the deal, the government will give its backing to Chinese General Nuclear Power Group entering EDF’s planned new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point.