The UK domestic Security Service, MI5, quietly welcomes China’s plan to build a new large embassy at Royal Mint Court in London. The proposed embassy will replace seven current Chinese diplomatic sites and house over 200 Chinese staff, including diplomats and intelligence officers. Some politicians warn this could increase espionage risks. But experts and former intelligence officers say embassies today are less important for spying because modern technology allows more remote spying. A former MI6 officer explained embassy officers mainly act as 'radars' to identify contacts, but serious spying is hard there since embassies draw heavy scrutiny. British officials also say one big embassy site makes it easier to watch Chinese officials across the UK. John Foreman, a former UK defence attache in Moscow, shared how diplomats are constantly monitored, with Russian agents tailing them or using listening devices to intimidate. Critics fear a bigger Chinese embassy means more interference, citing the 2020 US closure of China’s Houston consulate due to alleged spying. The Daily Telegraph reported the embassy’s full floor plans reveal 208 secret rooms and a hidden chamber near high-speed internet cables, stirring fears of possible tapping. Security services have access to all plans and say cable threats can be managed by rerouting or removal. Recent UK espionage cases show China conducts much spying from inside China or outside embassies, including hacking global networks and pressuring researchers. Some attempts to influence UK officials occurred outside embassy grounds. A former senior Whitehall official concluded, “The embassy is only a small part of the total espionage threat from China; we need to be more alert to where the real dangers are coming from, when to be permissive and when to be assertive.”