China expected to get London embassy go-ahead this week after years of wrangling

"A decision on China's proposed mega embassy in London is expected on Monday or Tuesday, with Chinese officials and British diplomats in Beijing holding their breath in anticipation of the planning application finally being approved. The saga, which has been running since 2018, is widely expected to end with the British government giving the green light for construction. If it does, one group likely to be grateful is those who work in the British embassy's dilapidated building in Beijing."

"The UK's plans to redevelop its outpost in China's capital have been blocked for years by the Chinese government because of the London embassy row. The wrangling has enabled Beijing to raise the embassy controversy to block whatever requests London has made that Beijing is not comfortable about, said Steve Tsang, the director of the Soas China Institute. Beijing has made the embassy issue a priority in the UK-China relationship. Xi Jinping, China's leader, raised the matter directly with Keir Starmer in their first phone call, in August 2024."

"The process ending this week started in 2018 when China paid 255m for the site of the Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London, a prestigious piece of real estate, on which to build a sprawling diplomatic complex that would be its biggest in Europe. The deal was brokered by Eddie Lister, a close aide to Boris Johnson, at a time when Johnson was serving as foreign secretary."

A decision on the proposed Chinese mega embassy in London is imminent and widely expected to be approved, ending a saga that began in 2018. China bought the Royal Mint Court site for £255m to build its largest European diplomatic complex, with the deal brokered by Eddie Lister when Boris Johnson was foreign secretary. Local planning refusals and political complications stalled the project and prompted Chinese displeasure, which Beijing used to block UK requests, including redevelopment of the UK embassy in Beijing. Xi Jinping raised the issue directly with Keir Starmer, reflecting the matter's high priority in bilateral relations.

Read at www.theguardian.com