LONDON — Britain’s chief finance minister will argue closer integration with the EU offers the U.K. the best opportunity for higher economic growth —  ahead of links with the U.S. and China.

Rachel Reeves will say Wednesday evening that stronger ties with the European bloc are “the biggest prize” for Britain, while stressing that calculation isn’t “about choosing sides but about geography.”

“There are three big economic blocks: U.S., China and Europe,” Reeves will say, according to extracts shared with POLITICO. “We will always seek every opportunity to grow our economy and these trading relationships, but ultimately only one of these is on our doorstep, and so the biggest prize is closer integration with Europe.”

The ruling Labour Party made economic growth a top priority when it won power in 2024, and has since embarked on a reset of relations with the EU following Britain’s departure from the bloc in 2020.

But Reeves, who is due to speak at an event organized by the Brussels think tank Bruegel at the London School of Economics, will emphasize the U.K. will only align with EU regulation when it’s in Britain’s “national interest.”

The U.K. government pledged not to rejoin the EU single market or customs union in it election manifesto. Some Labour MPs have backed closer relations as a vehicle for stronger economic relations amid the volatility caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Labour continues to languish in the polls behind Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, who was a key figure in the 2016 Brexit campaign.