Reuters reports that the opposition Labour Party said that Britain needs to be more "clear-eyed" about the risks of Chinese investment in key industries like nuclear energy.

Labour foreign policy chief Lisa Nandy said Chinese involvement in the British economy could not be stopped entirely, but that key industries needed to be better protected in the interest of national security.

Johnson's government has itself expressed nation security concerns about Chinese investment, excluding telecoms firm Huawei from its next generation mobile network.

But China remains involved in the construction of new nuclear power plant in southern England, working with French firm EDF.

That, coming alongside government criticism of both China's role in the former British colony of Hong Kong and its treatment of Uyghur Muslims in its western Xinjiang region, amounted to a muddled foreign policy dictated by conflicting government departments, Nandy said.

Earlier this year, Johnson's government voted down parliamentary proposals seeking to ban the government striking trade deals with countries that commit genocide, after a row that focused on China.

A Labour government, which is not in prospect until 2024 if Johnson seeks a full term as prime minister, would echo U.S. legislation and ban the import of goods produced using modern slavery, Nandy said, citing cotton from Xinjiang as an example.