US warns UK over Chinese embassy plan

Senior US officials are ‘deeply concerned’ about an espionage risk to sensitive financial data.

An impression of how the planned Chinese embassy building may look on the site of the old Royal Mint in London. Picture: David Chipperfield, architect

The White House has warned Downing Street against allowing a Chinese embassy to be built near sensitive London financial centres.

The plan for the “super-embassy” was blocked by the previous government amid British intelligence warnings about its location and the espionage risk, but has been revived after personal lobbying from China’s President Xi Jinping.

However, fresh security concerns have been raised about the complex at Royal Mint Court because of its proximity to a hub of sensitive critical communication cables that could be susceptible to attack. The proposed site lies directly between financial hubs in the City and Canary Wharf, and close to three significant data centres.

“The United States is deeply concerned about providing China with potential access to the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies,” a senior official said.

Britain is locked in talks with the US about how to implement the trade deal signed last month. They have until July 9 to agree a deal to avoid UK steel producers being hit with a new 50 per cent import tariff.

Asked what impact approving the super embassy would have on the US trade deal, the White House official appeared to issue a veiled threat, saying: “The United States expects that all decisions will be taken with our (US and UK) national security interests in mind, and after thorough mitigation as recommended and approved by counterintelligence professionals.”

It is understood President Donald Trump has previously urged UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to deny permission for the super embassy, and the issue has been raised in the trade negotiations. Diplomats say the Trump administration would have reservations about sharing intelligence with the UK if the embassy opened.

It comes after a memo was passed to the US National Security Council by members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. The memo claimed the “dark cabling” under the embassy site “feeds the City of London” – the heart of UK financial services.

John Moolenaar, the Republican head of the House of Representatives China committee, said: “If reports are accurate, placing a PRC embassy of unprecedented size over sensitive cabling that supports US and UK financial systems would pose an unacceptable risk to our institutions. The Chinese Communist Party has a clear track record of targeting critical infrastructure.

“This … would raise serious concerns in the United States and could be viewed as an act of strategic overreach by Beijing and a curious error in judgment by London.”

IPAC executive director Luke de Pulford said: “The Chinese mega-embassy has become a flashpoint in UK-US trade talks and it’s staggering that the White House had to publicly confirm the cabling risk just to defend its own financial system. It’s time to send Xi Jinping a clear message: no matter the pressure or coercion, the UK and US won’t trade away national security, and this embassy isn’t happening.”

A Chinese embassy spokesman dismissed the espionage claims, saying: “Anti-China elements are always keen on slandering and attacking China.”

The Times