George Osborne is Britain’s biggest political risk-taker; indeed, on a five-day tour of China the chancellor’s relish for the grand gesture suggests the mindset of the thrill seeker, constantly looking for an even bigger challenge.

Mr Osborne calls his approach “bold at home, bold abroad” and his China trip is the clearest sign yet that he intends to deploy his radical approach to domestic policymaking on a much wider stage. A trade mission to Iran is next on his agenda.

The China tour, covering four cities and thousands of miles, saw Mr Osborne accompanied by a sizeable retinue of British officials, business and civic leaders, and the kind of security normally associated with a visiting head of state.