A decision on China's proposed mega embassy in London is expected on Monday or Tuesday, with Chinese and British officials anticipating approval. The planning application, which has been under consideration since 2018, is widely expected to be granted before a 20 January deadline.
The saga began when China paid £255m for the Royal Mint Court site near the Tower of London in 2018, intending to build its largest embassy in Europe. The deal was brokered by Eddie Lister, a close aide to then-foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who wrote to China's top diplomat Wang Yi assuring approval. However, Tower Hamlets council refused planning permission, and the government declined to intervene, leaving Beijing officials astonished that local authorities could impede state-to-state relations.
China reapplied for permission soon after Labour entered government. Ministers called in the decision after President Xi Jinping raised the matter directly with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in their first phone call in August 2024. The green light is expected to smooth relations before Starmer's planned visit to China at the end of January, which would be the first by a UK prime minister since 2018.
Professor Kerry Brown of King's College London said China felt it had an understanding to use the site as an embassy and that the saga reflected a UK government 'hot and cold on China'. Steve Tsang of the Soas China Institute noted the wrangling enabled Beijing to block UK requests it was uncomfortable about. If approved, the decision could unlock further cooperation on issues like AI, though other tensions remain, including a recent spying scandal.
