UK expected to approve plans for Chinese mega embassy
The UK government is expected to approve China’s plans to establish a new mega embassy in central London.
No official final decision has been taken yet, but it is understood that the advice ministers received from intelligence agencies paved the way for the controversial project to be approved.
Expected green light First reported by The Times — would be the latest case study in a growing public debate about the wisdom of engaging with Beijing.
Approval or rejection of the planning application rests with Housing Minister Steve Reed in what is known as a quasi-judicial decision.
However, given the sensitivities of this decision call, many people were consulted, including MI5 and MI6.
The site at Royal Mint Court is close to the City of London and fibre-optic cables that carry vast amounts of highly sensitive data.
The 20,000 square meter embassy will be the largest of its kind in Europe.
Some have argued that it may be easier to manage one location rather than multiple locations across London, and that there is an awareness in the government that rejecting China’s long-standing desire to establish new embassies could cripple diplomatic relations.
But Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel warned that approving the embassy would put the UK at risk and accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of being “desperate and unprincipled”.
Since winning the general election last year, Labor has been trying to resolve Britain’s relationship with Beijing.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Trade Secretary Peter Kyle and the Foreign Office’s most senior civil servant, Sir Olly Robbins, were visiting China.
The Prime Minister is expected to make his own trip to the country, perhaps early next year.
On his way to the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, he told reporters when asked about the possibility of going there that no visit had yet been confirmed.
He said the government’s approach to China “is the same approach we have always taken, co-operating where possible and challenging where we must, particularly on national security.”
Critics argue the government has not been tough enough on what they see as the threat posed by Beijing and that much more caution is needed in Britain’s dealings.
Dame Priti said: “Keir Starmer really hates Britain.
“He is flying to Beijing days after our intelligence services warned of Chinese espionage in the wake of major spy case.”
Earlier this week, MI5 warned MPs and colleagues they were at risk of spying from the Chinese state.
The warning stated that people working on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security acted as “bounty hunters” on platforms such as LinkedIn and targeted people working in British politics to obtain inside information.
China has rejected the espionage allegations, calling them “complete fabrications”.
Meanwhile, a trial was opened in September in which two men, including a former parliamentary investigator, were accused of spying for China. crashed in controversial circumstances. Both men denied wrongdoing.
