Inside London’s Chinese Embassy
China plans to move its British embassy to a controversial new London site. It will carry 150 years of history with it.
After months of diplomatic wrangling, national security reviews, and political infighting, on 20 January 2026 the UK government approved plans for a Chinese mega-embassy on a site at Royal Mint Court in the City of London. The debate about whether to approve the Chinese government’s plans for a 20,000 square metre hub has been highly charged since it bought the site for £255 million in 2018. Opponents point to the potential hacking of the City of London’s fibre optic cables and the site’s proximity to the London Internet Exchange. Such concerns are countered by calls for the need to increase Chinese investment in the UK amid shifting American trade policies. As ever, the Anglo-Chinese relationship is complex and highly nuanced; this is not the first time that the diplomatic mission has been at the centre of a flashpoint.
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