China's proposal to build a massive new "super-embassy" complex in London is stirring controversy in Britain, with lawmakers, security experts, and dissidents warning it could heighten espionage risks and expand Beijing's reach on U.K. soil.

The Chinese government is seeking final approval to redevelop Royal Mint Court, a historic site near the Tower of London, into a 610,000-square-foot embassy compound — nearly 10 times larger than its current facility and larger even than the U.S. Embassy in the British capital, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The plans reportedly include more than 200 residences, a visa center, and other facilities.

Critics told the Post that the site's location near key communications infrastructure and London's financial district raises red flags about possible surveillance or hacking.

Two House GOP committee chairs — Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. — warned earlier this year the project could "embolden" China's efforts to intimidate dissidents and pose "significant security concerns."

"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," Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and China, wrote in a statement. "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."

Concerns have also been fueled by recent incidents — including the assault of a protester at the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England, and bounties placed on overseas activists — as well as fears that secure embassy rooms could be used to detain or interrogate individuals beyond the reach of British police.

"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 predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities," Smith, chair of the House Congressional-Executive Commission on China, wrote in a statement.

"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."

Beijing has dismissed such accusations as "completely groundless and malicious slander," according to the Post, insisting the project follows international diplomatic norms and that the host government is obliged to support embassy construction.

Supporters of the plan point to the restoration of historic buildings and improved consular services.

The project was first rejected by local officials in 2022 over policing and traffic concerns, but the Labour government of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer took over the final decision after coming to power in 2024 — a move widely seen as paving the way for approval. That decision is expected as early as next month, according to the report.

"A building doesn't go out and spy, and a building doesn't go out and infiltrate society: People do that," China Institute at London's School of Oriental and African Studies Director Steve Tsang told the Post.

"If MI5 wants to monitor the Chinese Embassy staff, it's arguably easier if they are mostly located in the same physical locality than if they are being scattered around London. And if we have a problem with embassy staff doing things which are problematic, then we need to deal with that as an issue and not simply deny them a site."