UK Greenlights China’s Embassy Expansion While PM Plans Cozy Visit
KEY POINTS
- •Prime Minister Keir Starmer approved controversial plans for Beijing to build a vast new embassy in London earlier this month.
- •Starmer is set to visit China next week, leading a delegation that includes BP, HSBC, Jaguar Land Rover, and Rolls-Royce.
- •These firms will also join a revamped UK-China CEO council aimed at strengthening business ties amid political tensions.
In a plot twist stranger than a post-Brexit handshake, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer approved a towering new Beijing embassy in London and then booked his own visit to China next week. Leading a delegation featuring the who’s who of British corporate glitter—BP, HSBC, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Jaguar Land Rover, and Rolls-Royce—the PM aims to cozy up to Beijing while the hometown crowd eye suspiciously the embassy's new digs. This revamped UK-China CEO council promises dazzling boardroom selfies and maybe a trade deal or two, as London gets a fresh diplomatic skyline upgrade courtesy of Starmer's government.
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(1 of 3)Packing his bags to visit his own government’s embassy baby, PM Starmer’s business babysitters RSVP from BP and Rolls-Royce—because nothing says ‘friendship’ like inviting the fox to the chicken coop party.
Starmer hosts a UK-China CEO party featuring BP and HSBC, proving that diplomacy is just boardroom schmoozing with better chains and shiny logos.
Embassy expansion approved, PM visits China, British companies attend—sounds like someone sold the British government as a tourist attraction.
Source: Theguardian | Published: 1/21/2026 | Author: Ben Quinn and Dan Sabbagh
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