UK approves a ‘mega’ Chinese Embassy in London despite criticism of security risks

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government announced Tuesday it has approved a huge new Chinese Embassy in central London despite heavy pressure from lawmakers over its potential security risks.

Local Government Secretary Steve Reed formally approved plans for the building near the Tower of London after a series of delays and legal challenges.

Critics have long expressed concerns that the proposed supersized embassy, set to be the biggest Chinese Embassy in Europe, will be used as a base for espionage as well as pose a heightened threat of surveillance and intimidation of Chinese dissidents in exile.

Plans for the embassy have been plagued by objections and protests since 2018, when China’s government bought the site at Royal Mint Court, near the Tower of London, for 225 million pounds ($301 million.)

Opponents say the huge site sits too close to underground fiber optic cables carrying sensitive financial information between London’s two main financial districts. British media have reported that the building complex would include 208 secret basement rooms close to the data cables.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has repeatedly postponed its decision in recent months after multiple cases of alleged Chinese spying and political interference underlined alarms about the proposed embassy.

The building will cover about 20,000 square meters (215,278 square feet) and replace several Chinese official buildings across London.

Dissidents have been among those who have protested the plans, saying a mega-embassy housing large numbers of officials would further China’s repression of activists abroad.

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, joined hundreds of protesters who chanted “no China mega embassy” at the site Sunday.

“We do not want a country that spies on our MPs (lawmakers) having this super-embassy right here,” she said. “We know that we have to stand up to the abuses of China. And what worries me is that we have a government right now that seems to be scared of China.”

Starmer has stressed that while protecting national security is non-negotiable, Britain needs to keep up diplomatic dialogue and cooperation with the Asian superpower.

The approval is widely expected to pave the way for a long-anticipated trip by Starmer to China, and an expansion of the U.K. Embassy in Beijing. The closely watched visit would be the first made by a British prime minister since 2018.

China has complained about the seven-year delay in approving the project, saying the U.K. was “constantly complicating and politicizing the matter.”