Decision time is coming after Labour called in the planning application for the new building in east London
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n 2018, a prime piece of real estate near the Tower of London that was once home to a Cistercian abbey and later became the historic manufacturing site for British coins was sold to the Chinese government.
The £255m deal, brokered by Eddie Lister, one of Boris Johnson’s closest aides, provided China with a site to build a new diplomatic complex stretching across 20,000 square metres. China’s then ambassador, Liu Xiaoming, expressed hopes that the deal would “write a new chapter for a China-UK golden era”.
But over the seven years that followed, this controversial “super-embassy” plan – staunchly opposed by local residents, human rights campaigners and backbench MPs – was plunged into the deep freeze.
