Theresa May flies to China for first G20 summit as PM

Theresa May will travel to the G20 summit in China later for her first international conference since she became prime minister.

In her talks with other world leaders she is expected to tell them the UK is "open for business" following the referendum vote to leave the EU.

Mrs May will have a one-to-one meeting with US President Barack Obama.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will also meet with her but no announcement on the Hinkley Point project is expected.

In July it was announced that the government would postpone a decision on whether to build Hinkley Point - the first new UK nuclear plant in 20 years - until the early autumn. The French energy giant EDF, with support from state-owned China General Nuclear, had expected to build the £18bn plant.

Mrs May is due to have a meeting with President Xi on Monday after the two-day G20 summit, which is made up of leaders of the world's 20 major economies.

'Dependable Britain'

BBC politics correspondent James Landale said Mrs May's meeting with President Xi "could prove the most important".

On Hinkley Point he added: "Her Chinese hosts have invested billions in this and are pushing hard for a positive decision. It is a judgement call that will show how open and dependable Britain really is," he added.

Other topics due to be discussed by Mrs May at the summit in Hangzhou include curbing the financing of extremist groups and advancing free trade.

The summit follows China's decision to cut its greenhouse gas emissions

During the summit, Mrs May will also hold her first face-to-face talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

At her meeting with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, the trading relationship between the two countries is expected to dominate the agenda.

Mrs May's talks with President Obama follow the US leader's warning that the UK would be at "the back of the queue" for a trade deal if it voted to leave the European Union.

Meanwhile, China has agreed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions after it ratified the Paris global climate agreement.

The country is the world's largest emitter of harmful CO2 emissions, which cause climate change.

In a landmark deal struck in December in Paris, countries agreed to cut emissions enough to keep the global average rise in temperatures below 2C.

It is the world's first comprehensive climate agreement and will only come into force legally when it is ratified by countries producing 55% of global carbon emissions.

China's decision to ratify the agreement will put pressure on other countries to follow suit.