Beijing purchased the site, which will accommodate what is expected to be the biggest embassy in Europe, in 2018.
A raft of security concerns have been raised in the planning process, including over the proposed embassy’s proximity to cables carrying communications to the vital City of London financial district. There has also been disquiet over Beijing’s refusal to present full internal layout plans to the British authorities.
The original Sept. 9, 2025 deadline for a decision to be made was missed after ministers took control of the application from Tower Hamlets Council.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian warned last October that Britain would “bear all consequences” if the application was refused.
The U.K. government decision to approve the embassy is likely to spark a backlash from China hawks in the U.K. parliament, including from MPs in Starmer’s ruling Labour Party. Nine Labour lawmakers wrote to Housing Secretary Steve Reed earlier this month urging him to reject the construction, stressing the building would “step up intimidation” against dissidents, warning security concerns remain “significant and unresolved.”