IT is not every week the Sedgemoor area is at the epicentre of an international relations crisis.

However China has warned the UK that failure to press ahead with a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset could threaten the two countries relationship.

Writing in the Financial Times, the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, said relations between the two countries were at a 'crucial historic juncture'.

Urging a quick decision, he outlined his country's experience in managing nuclear plants and Britain's energy needs.

The proposed Hinkley Point C power plant is being financed by a Chinese nuclear power provider and French energy giant EDF.

Prime Minister Theresa May caused shock when she ordered a last-minute halt to finalising the £18 billion project just hours after the EDF board gave it the final go-ahead in July.

In his article, the ambassador insisted that the safety and security of the plant was ensured by the UK's regulatory authorities and China's record of 30 years of safe operation of nuclear facilities.

He said Chinese companies had invested more in the UK than in Germany, France and Italy combined in the last five years and this was partly down to mutual trust and respect between the two countries.

He said the mutual trust was the foundation for bilateral co-operation.

"Right now, the China-UK relationship is at a crucial historical juncture," he said.

"I hope the UK will keep its door open to China and that the British government will continue to support Hinkley Point - and come to a decision as soon as possible so that the project can proceed smoothly."

He added that it had not been easy for the two countries to come this far, saying: "As long as both sides cherish what has been achieved and continue to expand and deepen our co-operation across the board, bilateral relations will maintain their strong momentum and work for the well-being of both the Chinese and British people."

However this week Green MEP for the South-West Molly Scott Cato has urged her concerned constituents to write to their MP and voice their opposition to Hinkley.

“This delay is a huge opportunity to stop Hinkley for good - and make the giant leap towards a clean, safe, and affordable renewable energy system," Dr Scott Cato said.

"Hinkley nuclear power station would be the most expensive object ever built. Rather than ploughing billions into this flawed scheme, the Government should be redoubling efforts to build up decentralised, renewable infrastructure fit for the 21st century."