WASHINGTON, D.C. —Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and China and Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) today sent a letter to Lord (Peter) Mandelson, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the United States, expressing serious concerns regarding the proposed construction of the largest Chinese Embassy in Europe on the site of the Royal Mint Court in London. The letter was sent ahead of the upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Trump. The letter expresses concerns that granting such a prominent diplomatic presence to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would be a counterproductive and unearned reward for the CCP’s human rights abuses and efforts to suppress political opposition. Chairman Moolenaar stated, "The U.K. must not reward the Chinese Communist Party with greater diplomatic influence while it continues to engage in repressive actions against its own people and against those who dare to speak out. This is a matter of international security and the protection of democratic values. Allowing the CCP to expand its influence in the heart of our closest ally only emboldens its malign efforts and poses serious risks to global security, democratic institutions, and economic stability." Rep. Smith added, “The Chinese Communist government gets the largest embassy in Europe while a U.K. citizen is unjustly jailed in Hong Kong, U.K. residents are spied on and harassed by Chinese agents, and U.K. consumers are offered products made with the forced labor of Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim ethnic minorities. There is no good reason to give China the gift of greater influence and espionage, the risks to British citizens and global security should be clear.” The ongoing detention of political prisoners like Jimmy Lai, a UK citizen, in Hong Kong. The use of forced labor in the production of goods exported to international markets. China’s transnational repression operations, which include surveillance and harassment of dissidents in the UK and across Europe. The letter also called on Prime Minister Starmer to prioritize the release of Jimmy Lai and work with President Trump to secure his unconditional freedom. Read the full letter below and here. Dear Lord Mandelson: We are writing before the upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Donald J. Trump to register our concern about the proposed plans for a new and expanded Chinese “super-embassy” on the site of the Royal Mint Court in London. Although there seems to be some tentative approval by UK officials for the project, it is our opinion that gifting the Chinese Communist government with the largest embassy in Europe is a counterproductive and unearned reward. Incongruously, the People’s Republic of China gets the largest embassy in Europe while thousands of political prisoners are detained in Hong Kong (including UK citizen Jimmy Lai), while the UK’s market is flooded with goods—from tinned tomatoes to solar panels—made with forced labor in China, and while diplomats associated with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices spy on UK and EU citizens. At the same time, the Chinese Communist government is committing atrocities against Uyghurs and Tibetans, uses torture against political prisoners, and employs almost daily military and “grey zone” threats to intimidate the people of Taiwan—including cutting cables, a tactic we have seen employed in the Baltic as well. Moreover, conceding the Chinese Communist government such a prominent diplomatic foothold in the UK will only embolden its efforts to intimidate and harass UK citizens and dissidents and experts across Europe who oppose or criticize its policies. China’s transnational repression operations are well-documented in the UK and throughout Europe. In the United States, organizations linked to Chinese embassies spy on Chinese students and scholars and helped mobilize “volunteers” to harass protesters who tried to raise human rights concerns during Xi Jinping’s visit to San Francisco for the APEC conference in 2023. In addition, your government is likely well aware of the Chinese Communist Party’s systematic effort to coopt social and business elites to advance its political and economic goals through malign influence operations, which include subverting free speech and other democratic values and overlooking unfair trade practices to gain economic advantages, including the use of forced labor in prisons and in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. We know that Prime Minister Starmer has expressed concern about Jimmy Lai’s detention and promised to make his release a UK government “priority.” We urge him to use his meeting with President Trump to coordinate efforts to gain Lai’s unconditional release. We take seriously the special relationship between the U.S. and the UK and offer these opinions in the spirit of friendship and in service of an ongoing and strong alliance. We ask that you convey our concerns to Prime Minister Starmer during his upcoming visit to the United States and would be happy to discuss them with you at your convenience. Sincerely, Christopher Smith John Moolenaar Member of Congress Member of Congress |