China blocks plans to rebuild UK embassy in Beijing

China is blocking requests to rebuild the British embassy in Beijing while the fate of its controversial mega-embassy in east London is being decided, the Guardian can disclose.

- Eleni Courea, Amy Hawkins

Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary, faces a politically fraught decision over whether to approve plans for a new Chinese embassy at Royal Mint Court.

The Chinese government has resisted UK requests to carry out a major reconstruction of the British embassy in Beijing for at least a year on the basis that its own proposals in east London had been blocked.

Three UK sources with knowledge of the negotiations said the embassy had become a top issue for China in its relations with Britain.

China wants to build a complex on 20,000 sq metres of land at a historic site near the Tower of London that it bought six years ago. Tower Hamlets council refused planning permission in 2022, citing security concerns and opposition from residents.