By approving Chinese plans to build a mega-embassy in London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is counting on securing closer trade ties and investment from China, but at the risk of angering politicians in Britain and the United States.
Beijing's desire to build the largest Chinese embassy in Europe in the heart of historic London has become a flashpoint in relations, testing Britain's ability to navigate the security risks and trade potential of its relationship with China.
The government ignored warnings from British and American politicians, local residents and British-based Hong Kong pro-democracy activists who claimed the new building could be used as a base for espionage and to intimidate Chinese dissidents, Reuters reports.
Since taking office in 2024, Starmer has made rebuilding the British economy a priority and wants closer relations with China to encourage foreign investment and fulfill a campaign promise to improve living standards.
Some American politicians have objected to the location of the new embassy, which is near sensitive underground communications cables, questioning whether it could have security implications for one of Washington's partners in the "Five Eyes" alliance with Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
“This will be seen for what it is - a base for hostile activity within the United Kingdom,” Tom Tugendhat, the security minister in Britain’s previous Conservative government, told Reuters. “This is, I fear, yet another indication that this British government has no idea what kind of CCP (Chinese Communist Party) it is actually dealing with.”
China has 146 registered diplomats in Britain, second only to the United States, according to British government records.
Opponents of China's plans to build a significantly larger embassy argue that it would mean more diplomatic staff, and therefore more spies, with the new location serving as a symbol of Chinese power and as a warning.
Six current and former British officials told Reuters that most fears of espionage were overblown or could be contained. They said that consolidating existing Chinese diplomatic facilities, which are scattered across London, could make it easier to track suspected spies.
The Chinese embassy in London has accused British officials of exaggerating fears of Chinese spies and cyberattacks.
The embassy decision is a sign of the compromises Britain must make as it navigates relations with China - a powerful adversary but also a potential source of economic aid at a time when the US, Britain's largest single trading partner, has threatened new tariffs as it seeks to take over Greenland.
Starmer is expected to travel to China this month, along with a business delegation, after Beijing made it clear that the trip was conditional on approval for a new embassy, British and Chinese officials said.
Approval of the new embassy could make Starmer vulnerable to criticism in Britain and distance London from his most powerful ally, at a time when polls show him as the least popular British prime minister.
In a parliamentary debate last week, 30 MPs spoke out against plans to expand the embassy. No one spoke in favor of the plan.
Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, is among American politicians who have expressed concern about the embassy expansion.
Nicholas Eftimiades, a former US intelligence officer and expert on Chinese intelligence, said British security services may be underestimating the risks.
"The US has intelligence capabilities several orders of magnitude greater than the UK, yet it is unable to effectively counter Chinese intelligence gathering," he said.
Pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong, who fled the former British colony, are among the most vocal opponents of the embassy expansion.
Chloe Chung, who was granted a special British visa to move from Hong Kong to Britain and is facing a bounty from China on charges of inciting secession, subversion and collaborating with foreign powers, which she denies, said she felt betrayed. She said the new embassy would look like a small Chinese “castle” and send a message that “the Chinese government is very powerful,” intimidating Chinese dissidents.
"I thought the United Kingdom would be a safe haven," she said.
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