The previous Tory government was not very successful in curbing China’s global ambitions, but its effort was minimal. Audio David Lammy’s office doesn’t have a website to combat spam bullying, which unfortunately becomes more suspect. China has announced this week that it has revived plans to build a massive new ‘super embassy’ – ten times the size of its current outpost – on land it owns in the heart of Tanaka. From the Tower of London
The largest diplomatic compound built in Britain
This is not an old practice of exchanging one piece of real estate for another. What China wants to build is a sprawling campus on 5.4 acres of Prime City land just across the road from the old St. Catherine Docks. Its slightly menacing-looking concrete cuboids will dwarf the old Royal Mint building, which was partly designed by Robert Smirk. If the complex is built, it will become the largest diplomatic compound in the UK.
This project has revealed many features that could be a big problem going forward!
Several features of the plan should give the government and the Foreign Office pause. One problem is its physical impact on London. A large part of London’s burgeoning commercial district is less visible than the use of a high-profile embassy.
More importantly, there may be more immediate social problems. The Chinese government is hardly uncontroversial: protests against it are frequent and likely to increase. Beijing loathes the idea of allowing people to regularly exercise their freedom of public protest, and will no doubt demand tighter and more visible security throughout, which is too much for those who work and live in the city. It will cause traffic and inconvenience. and neighboring areas.
10 August 2024
Andrew Tettenborn
Why Britain shouldn’t say no to China’s ‘super embassy’ in London – again. China wants to expand its presence in the capital (Getty). Royal Mint Court, in the City of London, where China wants to build its huge London embassy. Which was bought in 2018 from Beijing on Kha Moshi.
But there is more to it than that. This scheme is not new but has been revived. Planning permission was sought some time ago, after Beijing quietly bought the land in 2018. Tower Hamlets Council later overruled its own planning inspectors and refused consent, saying the construction of what would effectively be a diplomatic fortress was inappropriate for the area. London Mayor Sadiq Khan supported his decision and refused to intervene.
The government could have overruled the local authorities and allowed the project to go ahead. But it was hardly surprising. He did not see that China owed him any special favors: indeed, he had many reasons, in so far as he cooperated with Beijing, to do so with a fairly long spoon. These included concerns about espionage, in particular; the creation of a Confucius Institute to apply discreet pressure and Beijing’s malign influence on UK higher education through unilateral cooperation; Strong tactics used by staff at the Chinese consulate in Manchester against protesters in 2022. And it was in stark contrast to Beijing’s appalling treatment of Uyghurs, which then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss pointed out in May 2022.
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Maybe China and Britain will be working together in no time!
The Chinese government did not appeal, confining itself to complaining that Britain had failed in its international obligations to provide it with adequate embassy facilities. But the issue has resurfaced, perhaps because she sees the new Labor government as a soft touch. In March this year, Catherine West, then Shadow Minister for Asia, quietly visited Beijing. And shortly before the election, David Lemmy, now Foreign Secretary, said he intended to improve Britain’s relationship with China. Although he formally cited the previous government’s disregard for national security, China read it as a willingness to talk.
Lammy needs to fight temptation. The issue of embassy location is indeed very important for China. A great deal of symbolism rides on it. China desperately wants to demonstrate its power to pressure a major Western power to give it what it sees as diplomatic cover worthy of its global status. That it should be the largest embassy in London is an added bonus (the fact that the new US mission at Nine Elms is slightly smaller, just under five acres, is not lost on this). Equally, if the UK government allows the scheme to be blocked in advance, China will be able to say it cannot be pushed over issues such as espionage or human rights.
These are big issues. If he gives China what it wants, what will David Lammy get in return?
Apart from occasional professions of friendship and cooperation, a few photo opportunities and perhaps a promise to allow the UK embassy in Beijing (which is too cramped) to move or expand, little else. To be able to say that he has put another Tory policy behind him, he may have given up his best bargaining chip and proved to the world that when it comes to the game of diplomatic poker, So President Xi Jinping can run away. Circles around him Will he realize it when the time comes? We can only hope, but the omens are not promising.
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