Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the government of China about the redevelopment of the UK embassy in Beijing; and whether they discussed the construction of a new Chinese embassy in London in those talks.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 4 April 2025 to Question HL6121, and to the subsequent statement made to the House by Baroness Anderson of Stoke‑on‑Trent on 26 January setting out the decision taken by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

We have been clear throughout that the planning decision was for the Secretary of State at MHCLG to make in an independent, quasi-judicial capacity.

While it has been clear for a number of years that we need to rebuild our own Embassy in Beijing, which is in a poor condition and not suitable for managing a diplomatic relationship with a country as consequential to UK and global interests as China, that cannot be, and has not been, factored into this planning decision by the Secretary of State at MHCLG.