US warns UK against letting China build 'super embassy' near London's financial sites

The Trump administration has urged the UK’s Downing Street against allowing China to build a “super embassy" near sensitive financial centres in London, after previously-shelved plans for the building were reintroduced following lobbying efforts from Chinese President Xi Jinping, Report informs via News18.

“The United States is deeply concerned about providing China with potential access to the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies," a senior US official told The Times, warning that US diplomats would be hesitant to share intelligence with Britain if the embassy’s plans were approved.

Since acquiring the Royal Mint building near the Tower of London in 2018, China has been seeking to modify its development plans. According to reports, during a visit to London last year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the issue with Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and President Xi raised the matter with Starmer as well.

Earlier, proposals for the “super embassy" were rejected by the Conservative government in 2022 amid concerns for British intelligence, according to Daily Mail, but these plans have been reintroduced due to Xi’s lobbying.

The suggested site for this “super embassy" is situated between several major financial hubs in Canary Wharf and the City, as well as three crucial data centres. Since the plans were reintroduced, fresh warnings about threats to communication systems have arisen.

US President Donald Trump has reportedly warned British Prime Minister Keir Starmer against giving the go-ahead to the embassy during trade talks, where both sides discussed on a trade deal to avoid Trump’s punitive tariffs.

According to reports, a “dark cabling" running beneath the proposed site “feeds the City of London", about which a memo was sent to the US National Security Council by members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC).