China’s “mega embassy” planned for London could act as Beijing’s “interference hub” for the whole of Europe, a group opposing the plan has told Newsweek.
The proposed mission would consolidate seven Chinese diplomatic sites around London, and while the embassy has faced delays and not yet been approved, it could get the green light in January, it has been reported
The Inter Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) executive director, Luke de Pulford, told Newsweek on Thursday that the site “poses unacceptable risks” regarding security and espionage.
However, Steve Tsang, director of SOAS University of London’s China Institute, told Newsweek that denying the Chinese a new embassy would guarantee that the U.K. could not redevelop its own embassy in Beijing.
Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Embassy in London, the U.K.’s Foreign Office and London’s Tower Hamlets council, which is engaged with the planning application, for comment.
Why It Matters
The embassy proposal for London is a flashpoint in a debate over how the U.K. and other countries, such as the U.S. and NATO members, should approach potential national security risks from China’.
As Newsweek’s map shows, the site of the proposed embassy on Royal Mint Court is opposite the Tower of London, just north of the River Thames and Tower Bridge, near fiber-optic cables that carry data to and from the City of London, the capital’s financial hub.
British intelligence agency MI5 has said that China’s actors pose a daily national security threat to the U.K., and an espionage alert was issued last month about two named Chinese profiles on LinkedIn targeting MPs and parliamentary staff, which Beijing denied.
China has stressed the benefits of the new embassy site, but the security fears surrounding it are diplomatically tricky for the U.K. government, whose Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer this week highlighted the need for greater economic cooperation with Beijing.
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What To Know
The U.K. government had been expected to approve plans for the embassy by 10 December, and the decision has been delayed three times, but it could get the go-ahead on January 20, according to the BBC.
Critics have raised concerns that the location directly above fiber-optic networks that support London’s financial infrastructure could give Beijing access to sensitive communications traffic. “Positioning them over that critical financial infrastructure strikes us as a stupid mistake,” said De Pulford.
There were also suspicions when planning documents submitted to London’s Tower Hamlets council were redacted for security reasons. The then Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner gave China two weeks to explain what the rooms in the redacted plans were for.
“Although the secretary of state asked for an explanation and China has said no, the government just seems content,” said De Pulford. China has said it would move all its accredited diplomats in London onto a single site were it to be approved and has condemned “despicable slandering by anti-China elements” against the project.
A spokesperson for Starmer said consolidating China’s current multiple sites in London could confer security advantages. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said their concerns were resolved, the BBC reported.
China’s U.K. Embassy said that planning and design of the embassy were of a high quality, the planning application followed necessary procedures and it was an international obligation of the host country to facilitate the construction of diplomatic premises.
De Pulford said having increased capacity at the site means more interference.
But Tsang from SOAS told Newsweek that major countries generally do not base their most secretive spying operations within an embassy, where only the known intelligence officers are based.
”If we should have a problem, it is with the size of China’s diplomatic staff in London and what they do” he told Newsweek. “If we are not prepared to question that, it is pointless to deny them the space to house them.”
He said the only real security issue with the new embassy is the telecoms hub next to the site.
“If [British security agency] GCHQ or [the National] Cyber Security [Centre] should see a problem, London should insist that as a condition for approving the embassy compound, China pays to relocate the hub and thus remove the risk.”
What People Are Saying
Inter Parliamentary Alliance on China executive director Luke de Pulford: “To have their biggest embassy in Europe and London would be a huge political victory for China and indicate that the U.K. really had been brought to heel,” adding, “where you have more Chinese state employees, you have more Chinese state interference and espionage.”
The U.K. government in a statement per the BBC: “Should the planning decision for a new embassy be approved, the new embassy would replace seven different sites which currently comprises China’s diplomatic footprint in London, which clearly brings security advantages.”
China’s Embassy said: “We strongly condemn the despicable slandering by anti-China elements against the new Chinese Embassy project. No rational person with basic common sense would believe their lies.”
Steve Tsang, director of SOAS University of London’s China Institute, said: “The embassy is a red herring. A building, on its own, does not spy.”
What Happens Next
According to reports, a decision on the embassy site could happen around January 20. This would be a week before Starmer’s scheduled visit to China.
There is likely to be continued opposition by some to the project, which De Pulford said could mean a judicial review if it gets the go-ahead which could further delay the process.
