2025-01-17 07:39:02 :
(Bloomberg) — Britain’s foreign and home secretaries waded into the controversy over China’s plans for a new embassy on the edge of the City of London, expressing support for the new development.
In a letter to UK planning inspectors, David Lammy and Yvette Cooper raised the “importance of countries having functioning diplomatic premises in each other’s capitals” and said that if the new embassy was built, They will only ask China to meet two small demands. officially recognized.
The letter, published by Tower Hamlets local planning authority, was dated January 14, the day after Chancellor Rachel Reeves returned from a trip to Beijing and Shanghai. Met with Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing and Shanghai to discuss deepening relations between the two countries. economic ties between countries.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to step up cooperation with China to boost British economic growth has drawn criticism following a spying scandal involving a Chinese businessman close to Prince Andrew, brother of King Charles III. Meanwhile, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has moved further away from China, vowing to impose tariffs of up to 60% on goods from the world’s second-largest economy.
British intelligence services are concerned that a new embassy at the Royal Mint could give China access to sensitive communications cables beneath the city’s business district, i reported earlier this month.
The Metropolitan Police had previously expressed concerns that the location, close to the Tower of London tourist attraction, would not have enough space to accommodate protests. However, Lammy and Cooper revealed in their letter that police had withdrawn their objections and were now “satisfied that there is sufficient space for future protests without significant disruption to the adjacent road network”.
The two ministers only asked for changes to plans for health and safety reasons to change the way the public can access exhibitions at the embassy complex, which includes the Cistercian ruins, and to force China to give up diplomatic recognition for seven other embassy buildings it owns in London. Because the new embassy will be much larger than the old embassy in Marylebone.
The final decision on whether the embassy will be approved rests with Housing Minister Angela Rayner after planning approval was first rejected by Tower Hamlets councilors. Beijing resubmitted the plans in August, prompting Renner to “call in” the scheme – which a government spokesman said “raises planning issues of greater importance than the local area”. Planning inspectors will hold a public inquiry before Renner makes a final decision.
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