Washington warns London against building a Chinese embassy near sensitive financial centers news
The United States warned the British government against moving forward with the plan to build a huge Chinese embassy in a location close to financial and strategic centers in the capital, London, considering that the project may pose a great security threat to Britain and its allies.
This warning comes at a sensitive time in which trade relations between London and Washington are witnessing accurate negotiations to implement a recent trade agreement, amid fears that this step will affect the intelligence cooperation between the two countries.
The former British government had rejected the embassy construction project earlier based on warnings from the intelligence services about the risks of espionage, but the project returned to the fore after direct pressure from Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to the British newspaper “The Times”.
The proposed site for the embassy is located in the “Royal Mint Court” area near the London Tower, a strategic location between the “City of London” and “Canary Warf” regions. It includes a network of vital cables that feed the communications infrastructure and data in the British financial sector.
A senior US official said his country “is very concerned about China’s possibility to access sensitive contacts related to one of our closest allies,” referring to Britain.
Reports indicate that these concerns may affect the future of the trade agreement between the two countries, as an official at the White House hinted that Washington expects the British decisions to take into account the common security interests, and after an accurate evaluation by anti -espionage experts.
In a memorandum submitted by the “International Parliamentary Alliance on China” to the US National Security Council, deputies warned that the cables under the proposed embassy site “feed the heart of the British financial system”, making the site a potential target for espionage or sabotage.
For his part, John Mullenar, head of the Chinese Affairs Committee of the American House of Representatives, said that “the construction of a Chinese embassy of this size is above a vital infrastructure represents an unacceptable risk,” adding that “the Chinese Communist Party has a clear record in targeting sensitive infrastructure.”
On the other hand, the Chinese embassy in London denied these accusations, describing it as “slanders from anti -China bodies”, stressing that the embassy project aims to enhance bilateral relations.
It is noteworthy that China has bought this site in 2018, and since then it has been seeking to turn it into its largest diplomatic mission in Europe. The final decision on the project was referred to the British government ministers, amid internal division between supporters seeing an opportunity to enhance economic relations, and opponents who are threatening national security.
