By Laurie Chen and Andy Bruce BEIJING (Reuters) -British finance minister Rachel Reeves, facing criticism for travelling to China during financial market turmoil at home, said on Saturday that "pragmatic and predictable" relations with Beijing would help boost economic growth and trade.

Closer links with China are “crucial” for economic growth, Rachel Reeves has said. The Chancellor is in Beijing for talks on a closer trading relationship which she claims will boost Britain’s GDP by £1 billion as the Government attempts to mend relations with the world’s second-largest economy.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves kicked off a two-day China visit Saturday, a landmark exchange highlighting the Labour government’s efforts to stay focused on long-term plans to get the British economy growing again even as fiscal concerns mount back home.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves returns to the UK from China on Monday with the Labour Party keen to brush off market turmoil around its fiscal difficulties and emphasize the government’s long-term ambitions.

Exclusive: Former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said that the chancellor’s trip to Beijing was a desperate move ‘because she has trashed the economy’