The US Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has warned that the project poses threats ranging from “interference and surveillance to risks for sensitive infrastructure like London’s financial services”.
The statement was shared after The i Paper revealed that lobbyists with close ties to the Labour Party had been hired by the Chinese embassy to aid its controversial planning application to redevelop a huge complex of buildings near the City of London.
China using lobbying firm linked to Labour to help win approval for ‘super’ embassy
Read MoreA report assessing China’s threat to the UK, compiled by intelligence agencies in 2019, specifically cited concerns about the cables, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the report.
The Government has been attempting to thaw the UK’s political and economic relationship with China in recent months, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves travelling to China in January to drive investment.
The Prime Minister signalled in December that he hoped the scheme would go ahead, and it has won the backing of the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary.
A former CIA senior intelligence analyst, Martijn Rasser, warned in December that approving the Chinese embassy plan could be “very negative” to transatlantic relations.
The site for the proposed new Chinese embassy, seen in the top left corner of this photo, is next to the Tower of London, a short distance from the City’s financial district (Photo: Michael Dunning / Getty Images)A former US diplomat, Craig Singleton, added: “If the UK moves forward, the US might explore mitigative measures – publicly or privately.”
Urging Congress to partner with the Trump administration on the issue, he said that Beijing “poses a military threat to America and our allies,” and that the US must “win the competition” against the Chinese Communist Party.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy said last month: “With the consent of the UK Government, the Chinese government purchased the related property a few years ago. Host countries have the international obligation to support and facilitate the building of the premises of diplomatic missions. Both China and the UK have the need to build a new embassy in each other’s capital, and the two sides should provide facilitation to each other.
“The Chinese Embassy in the UK is committed to promoting the friendship between the Chinese and British people and the development of bilateral relations between the two countries. Building the new embassy at an early date would help us better perform such responsibilities.”
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