China to take one-third stake in £24bn Hinkley nuclear power station

Details unveiled of deal signed between state-owned companies from China and France to build world's most expensive plant on UK soil

China will take a one-third stake in a French-led project to build a new 24bn nuclear power station in the UK at Hinkley Point in Somerset, expected to be the most expensive ever built.

The deal was signed between state-owned companies from China and France just hours before the Chinese president, Xi Jinping , arrived in London for a state visit, and is due to be announced on Wednesday.