The U.K. government has approved China’s plans to build a “mega embassy” in London. After years of delay, Prime Minister Keir Starmer endorsed the project, despite concerns that the embassy would be used for spying. The decision is a bad one from an unpopular and misguided administration, and it is sure to complicate the increasingly fraught relationship between Britain and its foremost ally, the United States.
On Jan. 20, the Starmer government announced that it would allow the Chinese to build the biggest diplomatic facility in Europe, 614,000 square feet in central London. The building’s size reveals China’s ambitions, which, with China’s recent pattern of behavior, are sparking concern.
For years, human rights activists in the United Kingdom have opposed breaking ground on the consulate, citing Beijing’s treatment of ethnic minorities such as the Uyghurs and its growing belligerence toward countries including Taiwan.
In an interview shortly before the Starmer government announced its decision, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson (R-LA), noted the worrying symbolism of China building an unprecedentedly large embassy in the heart of London. “It sends a certain message that China would have such a prominent place,” Johnson told Sky News. It is not, he said, a “great development.” That puts it mildly.
The speaker noted that the consulate could present obstacles to close intelligence sharing between the U.S. and the U.K. He’s right. There are real security risks in addition to the symbolism.
Embassies are considered foreign soil, affording diplomats and spies a level of legal cover. But Beijing’s plans also constitute a clear threat because, as they say in the real estate business, it’s all about location, location, location.
The consulate would be built at Royal Mint Court, near the Tower of London and next to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables that carry data to the City of London, one of the most important financial hubs in the world. The cables also connect Canary Wharf to the city and “together form the world’s second largest financial center and the nerve center” of London, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This risks exposing sensitive information and jeopardizing the U.K. and its top security partners. Beijing could have access to hundreds of billions of international data messages that flow through the area every day.
The sprawling embassy would occupy key ground and would turn the heart of London into Chinese Communist Party territory, offering that malevolent organization and its supplicants plenty of opportunity for malfeasance. The timing also couldn’t be worse.
China has been making inroads in the Anglosphere, working assiduously to exploit divisions and tensions between the U.S. and its allies. Recently, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expanded ties with China, inking trade and energy agreements and visiting Beijing. He justified this on the grounds that there’s now a “new world order.” Starmer has also said he intends to visit China, the first official trip by a British head of government to China in nearly a decade.
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By approving the embassy, the U.K. fails to take the Chinese threat seriously. London isn’t alone. Too many countries look at China and see only dollar signs, overlooking the danger posed by the communists. It is complacent and easily seduced.
China sees an opportunity to pry away longtime American allies. The decision to approve a massive spying facility in the heart of London will make that a lot easier.
