In the shape of a novel, enormous-sized embassy built for the heart of London, the United Kingdom is facing a Chinese conundrum. The consulate had probably boost Chinese purchase in the UK’s struggling business, but it also did put a strain on relations with the Donald Trump-led United States.
After Labour Party leader Keir Starmer promised Chinese President Xi Jinping in a conference last November that his government would assist in removing obstacles for the construction of a novel Chinese embassies at the Royal Mint Court, the discussion broke out. The Tower Hamlets Council had previously rejected the job application half in 2022 prior to this.
China’s Finance Ministry said on January 14 this year that China and the UK have reached 69 trade and financial contracts, which it projected may make about £600 million ( US$ 744 million ) of economic benefits for Britain over the next five years.
We want to exchange ideas and goods with everyone in the universe. Of course, we do, but that isn’t cost-free. During a protest against the novel Chinese military project on February 8, Tom Tugendhat, an antagonism Conservative Party MP, said,” It doesn’t appear for nothing.”
How much body would you be willing to have on your fingers for low products if you were looking at the fabric from Xinjiang or the batteries and solar panel made by prisoners? In this nation, we fought slavery 200 years ago, when we resisted honey produced by slaves on crops.
Trump was considering how American diplomatic trade ties with the UK were being reviewed as a result of Starmer’s efforts to strengthen ties with China.  ,
Trump announced in early February that he would impose levies on the European Union, which still has a significant trade deficit with the US. Trump claimed that he and Starmer had a great phone conversation in late January and that possible bilateral trade concerns may be resolved.
Trump may decide whether or not to take the mega-Chinese ambassador into account when he imposes tariffs on the UK.
In goods, the UK had a trade surplus of £2.5 billion ($ 3 billion ) with the US while the EU had a 156 billion euro ($ 161 billion ) surplus with the US in 2023. But in both goods and services, the UK’s trade surplus with the US amounted to £71 billion ($ 88 billion ) while the EU only had a trade surplus of 52 billion euros ($ 54 billion ) with the US.  ,
British exporters will have to spend £6 billion to the US Customs every if the US imposes a 10 % tax on UK goods, given that the UK exported £60 billion of products there in 2023.  ,
London opposition calling
On February 8, many thousand activists, primarily from Hong Kong and some from Taiwan, island China, Xinjiang and Myanmar, rallied in front of the two-centuries-old Royal Mint Court, which was bought by China in 2018 as a possible site for a new ambassador.  ,
The fresh embassy and flat, if established, will be able to provide 250 team members. The Qing government’s present Chinese ambassador on Portland Street was established in 1877, and Sun Yat-Sen was being held there in 1896.  ,
Some activists waited on the streets because the pavements weren’t wide enough. During the march, the Metropolitan Police reportedly clashed with some of the protest while closing off some of the intersections. Two people were reportedly detained by the police for refusing to move while standing on the streets.  ,
Robert Jenrick, the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice of the UK and a Conservative MP, stated in a statement at the rally page that” (MI5 Director General ) Ken McCallum said that China is the number one spying threat to our land.”  ,
” When you have China stealing our intellectual property, spying on individuals of our government, sanctioning Members and intimidating, harassing American residents day in and day out, why would we allow them to have around the biggest mega-embassy and spy headquarters in Europe? No self-respecting state would do that”.
Another Liberal MP, Iain Duncan Smith, criticized China for bullying all the nations in the South China Sea and preparing to invade Taiwan.  ,
Blair McDougall, an MP from the Scottish Labor Party, stated that if China wants to start an ambassador at the Royal Mint Court, it had close its” focus tent” in Xinjiang, unblock the income funds of Hong Kong residents, and release Hong Kong media mogul and activist Jimmy Lai from prison.  ,
The Taiwanese government has stated that there are only education facilities for Muslim Uyghurs to eliminate extreme emotions and develop job skills in Xinjiang.  ,
As tens of thousands of Hong Kongers did not withdraw their pension cash after moving to the UK, according to McDougall,” the freezing money.” The Hong Kong government said these people’s British National ( Overseas ) visas cannot be legal proof of living abroad.  ,
Catherine West, the UK Foreign Office minister, traveled to Hong Kong next November and met with a representative from the Chinese foreign government. She eventually revealed in an interview to former RTHK television network Stephen Vines that she had spoken with the Chinese national about Jimmy Lai’s arrest. He is a British citizen.
” Britain is however denied diplomatic access. We are aware of people who regularly attend Jimmy Lai’s trial, and officials at the president went to the tests, West said. We were relieved to see how well he actually looked in judge, and we were relieved to see how well he looked.
Vines said the Labour government highlighted 3Cs – cooperate, thrive and task, but it seems the target is only on cooperate. West asserted that she had a sincere conversation with the Chinese national and that she remained committed to the UK’s liberal and democratic norms.  ,
Opposition opponents point out that despite the slow progress made with Jimmy Lai’s release, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves met with Taiwanese officials in Beijing next month and signed a number of new cooperation agreements.
Extraterritorial crime
Some Hong Kong residents expressed concern about a 2022 incident where many Chinese consulate staff members attacked some pro-democracy protesters outside the United States consulate in Manchester. One of the protesters was allegedly escorted into the compound and punched. The adversaries have since broken up in the UK.  ,
Three men connected to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office ( HKTEO ) in London were charged last year with attempting to break into a Hong Kong person’s home. While the jury case was continued, Matthew Trickett, one of the accused, was strangely found dead in a garden near his home.
Safeguard Soldiers, a non-governmental business, said there were at least three Chinese “police company channels” in the UK – in Croydon, Glasgow and Hendon.
Video footage from a group of pro-China campaigners harassing American pianist Brendan Kavanagh at a nearby train station in early 2024 went viral. Foreign spy Christine Lee apparently had ties to the troublemakers.
Prince Andrew, the younger sibling of King Charles III, was implicated in an alleged snooping plot involving a reputed Chinese agent, according to a decision from the British High Court in December.
According to the decision, the duke had” cultivated an unusual degree of faith” with Yang, who was prohibited from the nation on national security grounds, and was willing to engage in business relations with the alleged Chinese broker. Yang has denied being a Taiwanese detective.
From February 11 to February 18, the Towers Hamlets Council may conduct a public investigation into the construction of the Chinese embassies.  , China’s best minister, Wang Yi, may visit the UK in mid-February parallel with the investigation.
The Asia Times has Yong Jian as a contribution. He is a Chinese blogger who specializes in Chinese technologies, economy and politics.  ,
Read: China building country’s biggest military base in training for US combat