The Chinese leader’s visit to the UK this week is expected to bring a welcome boost to the region’s nuclear and tourism industries.

As part of President Xi Jinping’s visit to the UK this week, he is expected to sign a deal with the government to provide funds for a nuclear power plant.

The Chinese President is expected to sign a deal expected to cover almost 30 per cent of the cost of a nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset, as well as other deals, a sign of growing Chinese influence on the nuclear industry.

Last month we reported that Britain and China’s landmark nuclear deal is set to bring jobs and cash to Cumbria.

Hopes remain high that a new £50m atomic research laboratory will bring work to the county.

It is also thought that the closer links between China and the UK will lead to an exchange of nuclear know-how in a potentially lucrative trade deal.

The UK Government is also looking to run a pilot scheme to provide cheaper visas to Chinese tourists which could spur an increase in tourism to the county.

The intention is to allow Chinese tourists to gain a two-year tourist visa for £85 , significantly cheaper than the current cost of £324.

Chancellor George Osborne announced in September that there would be a regional collaboration between Cumbria and Sichuan Province as well as a £50m nuclear research centre co-funded by both countries’ governments to be called the Joint Research and Innovation Centre (JRIC).

The exact location for this new centre has not been announced but it is widely believed that it could be based in Cumbria.

Paul Howarth, the managing director of the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), welcomed the news.

His organisation, which operates in both Sellafield and Workington, will run the operation together with the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). It will look at projects over a number of different areas of work across the whole nuclear fuel cycle.

He said last month:: “I'm very pleased to see this announcement made, which is the result of a great deal of effort by colleagues in NNL and in China. The JRIC is an important step in building the relationship between the UK and China as that country becomes increasingly important on the international nuclear stage.

“The work of the centre will help to optimise the nuclear power generations systems we have operating today, as well as working to develop the reactors and fuel cycles which we will deploy in future and better ways of dealing safely with nuclear waste.

“It will be a significant contributor to delivering high level skills and jobs in the north west of England which has always been the heartland of Britain’s nuclear industry.”