The writer, a former British diplomat specialising in China, is a fellow of the Council on Geostrategy and the Royal United Services Institute
Plans for a new Chinese embassy in London have gained government approval and public disapproval. Neither is surprising.
Opposition centres on a handful of worries. The embassy’s size is unnecessarily large. Sensitive communication cables abut the site, which is on the edge of the City of London. It could become a big spy base, with “secret underground rooms” holding dissidents abducted by Chinese diplomats. Visitor access to the ruins of a 14th-century abbey under the embassy will now require Chinese permission. People say it should not be situated at the heart of the capital.
您已阅读15%（726字），剩余85%（4129字）包含更多重要信息，订阅以继续探索完整内容，并享受更多专属服务。