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Nuer Bekri, China's Director of National Energy Administration, smokes outside 10 Carlton House Terrace in central London, where representatives from Britain, China, France and energy company EDF will sign an agreement to build and operate a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point, Britain, September 29, 2016. Image Credit: Reuters

London: A deal to build Britain’s first new nuclear power station in decades was signed behind closed doors in London on Thursday, in a low-key ceremony that underlined Prime Minister Theresa May’s cautious approach to the Franco-Chinese project.

Journalists were not invited to the event but a person familiar with the situation said the contract had been signed at a ceremony due to be attended by Britain’s Business Secretary Greg Clark, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and China’s National Energy Administration Director Nur Bekri.

The no-frills event for the project in Hinkley, to be built by France’s EDF and part-funded by China, contrasted with the approach taken by May’s predecessor David Cameron who courted Chinese investment during a lavish state visit laid on for President Xi Jinping last year.