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China has resubmitted plans to build a major new embassy in London, a controversial project that could test how Britain’s new Labour government handles relations with the world’s second-largest economy after years of diplomatic tensions and disputes.
Last month, two weeks after the new British government took office on July 5, Beijing submitted a new planning application to the council to build an embassy near the Tower of London, according to documents on the Tower Hamlets council website.
Planning documents say the council’s decision in December 2022 to reject the proposal, citing safety reasons and the impact on residents, was “unfounded” and had “no planning policy basis”.
China missed the deadline to appeal last year amid strained relations with the then-Conservative-led government over suspicions of Chinese cyber espionage and human rights issues, but it always has the option of resubmitting its application.
Although the planning application will initially be dealt with by Tower Hamlets Council, the national government could become involved if the proposal is again refused and China appeals.
The council said its planning team was reviewing the application but it was too early to say when a decision would be made.
The Chinese Embassy in London said in a statement that “the resubmitted planning and design plan for the new embassy building fully takes into account the requirements of the UK’s building planning policies and the opinions of relevant parties.”
China has accused Britain of exaggerating allegations of Chinese espionage and cyber attacks.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has made strengthening ties with the European Union after Brexit a priority but has said it will review bilateral relations with China to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities posed by Beijing.
China first announced plans to build a new embassy in London in 2018 as part of a bid to increase its diplomatic influence, spending about £250 million ($318 million) to buy land on the former site of the Royal Mint, Britain’s coin maker.
The embassy will be China’s largest diplomatic mission in Europe, almost twice the size of its embassy in Washington.
That has led some British politicians and security officials to warn that expanding the embassy and adding Chinese diplomats could make it easier to increase the number of spies in the country, some officials told Reuters.
Chinese officials, in turn, expressed frustration that the British government had failed to help them gain planning permission during official meetings, people involved in the negotiations said.
British and Chinese officials held at least one meeting earlier this year to discuss the dispute, people familiar with the matter said.
Read more by Euractiv
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