by Feng Gan
Royal Mint Court -- soon to be the new embassy
The Starmer government has approved the plan for a new Chinese embassy in London, a decision that has brought to an end years of delays driven by pressure from some US and UK politicians. Steve Reed, the Housing Secretary, announced on Tuesday that Beijing's application to build on the former Royal Mint site in east London has been approved. The decision comes at a sensitive time for Anglo-American relations, after Donald Trump threatened Britain and other European countries with tariffs for defending Greenland against his ambitions to take it over.
The process ending this week
started in 2018 when China paid £255 million for the site of the
Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London, on which to build a
diplomatic complex that would be its biggest in Europe.
Ahead of the expected decision junior foreign minister Seema Malhotra had sought to reassure MPs on Monday of the involvement of Britain's security services in the process of the new embassy project. She said "resolutions" had been reached over concerns about public access to the embassy and the consolidation of China's diplomatic buildings across London into the single site.
he decision regarding the 20,000 square metre site at the historic Royal Mint Court had been delayed twice. The saga reflected a UK government that was "hot and cold on China", according to the Guardian, quoting Prof Kerry Brown, the director of the Lau China Institute at King's College London, "What was originally a relatively straightforward issue has become symbolically quite difficult," he said.
China, Prof Brown said "felt they had an understanding that they bought this £250 million place to use as an embassy … if there were going to be issues, they could have been told then".
The newspaper also cited voices from within the UK intelligence community, noting that while politicians eager to raise concerns about China's proposed "mega embassy" near the Tower of London, the espionage community quietly takes a different view, arguing that concerns about the development are exaggerated and misplaced.
Ahead of the expected decision junior foreign minister Seema Malhotra had sought to reassure MPs on Monday of the involvement of Britain's security services in the process of the new embassy project. She said "resolutions" had been reached over concerns about public access to the embassy and the consolidation of China's diplomatic buildings across London into the single site.
he decision regarding the 20,000 square metre site at the historic Royal Mint Court had been delayed twice. The saga reflected a UK government that was "hot and cold on China", according to the Guardian, quoting Prof Kerry Brown, the director of the Lau China Institute at King's College London, "What was originally a relatively straightforward issue has become symbolically quite difficult," he said.
China, Prof Brown said "felt they had an understanding that they bought this £250 million place to use as an embassy … if there were going to be issues, they could have been told then".
The newspaper also cited voices from within the UK intelligence community, noting that while politicians eager to raise concerns about China's proposed "mega embassy" near the Tower of London, the espionage community quietly takes a different view, arguing that concerns about the development are exaggerated and misplaced.
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