(TibetanReview.net, Jun10’25) – After continuing to keep the option to allow China to construct a “super-embassy” in London’s financial districts alive despite strong opposition from human rights groups and other critics of Beijing, as well as local residents, UK’s Labour government has now been warned by the US against allowing the project to go ahead due to serious security risks it posed to critical communication infrastructure.
The embassy project, China’s largest in Europe, has been contentious since Beijing purchased the former Royal Mint buildings in 2018 and Tibetan and Tibet groups have been active participants in the protests.
Construction of the building was blocked amid espionage fears from local residents, as well as human rights campaigners and politicians, reported standard.co.uk Jun 8.
This was after the plan was revived, with Angela Rayner – Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government – “calling in” the decision last year, and ministers now due to make the call on whether the hugely-controversial embassy should go ahead, the report said.
Her decision came after then local Tower Hamlets council initially refused permission in 2022. However, Both Scotland Yard and Tower Hamlets council withdrew their objections following Rachel Reeves’s China visit.
Beijing then resubmitted its plans without making any major changes.
The proposed “super-embassy” at Royal Mint Court sits between the City and Canary Wharf, directly above sensitive communication cables that serve the Capital’s financial centres, noted gbnews.com Jun 8.
It quoted a senior US official as saying, “The United States is deeply concerned about providing China with potential access to the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.”
The report said the site’s proximity to three major data centres had heightened American fears about potential espionage and the vulnerability of crucial financial communications infrastructure to attack.
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When asked about the project’s impact on the ongoing trade negotiations, the White House official has said: “The United States expects that all decisions will be taken with our national security interests in mind and after thorough mitigation as recommended and approved by counterintelligence professionals.”
US President Donald Trump has personally urged Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to reject the embassy plans, reports have been cited as saying.
Diplomats are stated to have warned that the Trump administration would reconsider intelligence sharing arrangements with Britain if the development proceeded.
China remains just as determined for the project to proceed. Its Foreign Minister Wang Yi raised the matter with Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a London visit this year, whilst President Xi Jinping personally lobbied Starmer, the report said.
US officials are in ongoing trade negotiations with the UK, with Britain facing a Jul 9 deadline to avoid 50% tariffs on steel exports.
Labour’s move to allow the “super-embassy” construction has been criticized by the opposition Conservative party, with Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, branding China a “dangerous threat to the national and economic security of our country”, noted the standard.co.uk report.
It quoted the US official as saying, “It’s time to send Xi Jinping a clear message: no matter the pressure or coercion, the UK and US won’t trade away national security, and this embassy isn’t happening.”