Hi Global Recap readers,
While there was little doubt the U.K. would approve the deal, it still makes one wonder:
What level of diplomatic pressure or lobbying did the CCP apply to help push it through?
Why did the U.K. proceed despite significant public backlash and the prime minister’s sharply declining popularity?
🇬🇧 UNITED KINGDOM
U.K. Approves
China Super Embassy
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (right)
Despite fierce pushback, Starmer’s government just greenlit China’s planned “super-embassy” on London’s former Royal Mint site.
Meanwhile:
Critics are calling Starmer a sellout.
Starmer's party is getting flak for “canceling” several local elections this year.
U.K.'s own intelligence agencies, MI5 and GCHQ, say that they cannot realistically eliminate all the security risks—which is a fair point regarding any embassies.
Reminder: If you haven’t read our previous story on China’s “super-embassy,” featuring 208 concealed underground rooms (including one located about 1 meter / 3.3 feet from a high-value communications hub), click here to read it.
Decision. On Tuesday, January 20, 2026, Housing Secretary Steve Reed approved planning permission for China’s new diplomatic complex in central London, ending a long process over a project billed as Beijing’s largest diplomatic building in Europe.
Alarm. Britain’s spy chiefs, MI5 director-general Sir Ken McCallum and GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler, told ministers it is “not realistic” to expect every risk can be eliminated, arguing it would be “irrational” to drive “embassy-generated risk” to zero when the country faces plenty of other threats.
Wiring. The site’s awkward detail is what runs under it: sensitive fiber-optic cables carrying financial data linked to the City of London.
Officials say a package of “mitigations” has been assembled.
However, one telecoms expert warns that “most of the tampering” historically comes from physical access to devices and that “there is compelling evidence of the Chinese doing this.”
Exiled Hong Kong Activists
Chloe Cheung, a pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong, moved to the U.K. in 2021 on the British National Overseas visa (a special pathway that allows Hongkongers to live in Britain and work toward settlement). She now worries the CCP is steadily moving closer to her doorstep.
Hong Kong. What many people still don’t realize is the growing frustration among exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy activists living in the U.K.
Britain’s role is part of the story. The U.K. governed Hong Kong as a colony until 1997, when it returned the territory to Chinese sovereignty under the terms of the Sino–British Joint Declaration.
Fast forward decades, Beijing imposed the 2020 National Security Law, which is widely criticized as violating the handover framework’s “one country, two systems” promise that Hong Kong would retain a high degree of autonomy and protected rights and freedoms for 50 years after 1997 (until 2047).
Due to the U.K.’s stated commitments to that framework, many Hong Kongers were welcomed to Britain.
🇬🇧 UNITED KINGDOM
Trump Slams U.K.’s
Chagos Deal
Demonstrators opposing the British government’s Chagos Islands deal rally outside Parliament in London this month. Many Chagossians (including U.K.-based BIOT citizens) have criticized the U.K.–Mauritius Chagos agreement and the prospect of Mauritian sovereignty, saying they were not meaningfully consulted and want a direct say in decisions on resettlement and reparations/compensation.
President Trump trashed the U.K.’s Chagos Islands agreement, calling it "an act of GREAT STUPIDITY."
Spark. Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.K. is "planning to give away" Diego Garcia, home to a major U.K.-U.S. military base, and framed it as proof that Greenland "has to be acquired" for national security.
Reversal. However, many are questioning Trump's apparent U-turn.
In an Oval Office meeting with Prime Minister Starmer in February, Trump said the Chagos deal would "work out very well," and Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly praised the agreement as "historic."
When questioned about this by a reporter, Trump clarified that the U.K. was originally planning to do this "on some concept of ownership, but they are now looking to, essentially, just do a lease and sell it."
Context
Diego Garcia is a key U.S. military hub in the Indian Ocean that supports long-range operations and logistics. When activity there increases, some observers read it as a signal of heightened U.S. readiness for potential regional contingencies.
History. The Chagos Archipelago’s anchor is Diego Garcia, home to a U.S.-U.K. joint base that can host strategic bombers.
Britain carved the islands away from Mauritius in 1965 as Mauritius moved toward independence, and later forcibly removed more than 1,000 residents to clear the base site.
Mauritius has challenged British control for decades, and in 2019 the International Court of Justice said the U.K.’s continued administration was "illegal."
Pressure. The 2024 agreement would transfer sovereignty to Mauritius while locking in a 99-year lease for the base, with Britain paying about £101 million ($136 million) a year on average, for a total of £3.4 billion ($4.6 billion).
Starmer slowed the final steps in January 2025 while awaiting a U.S. review, and the deal still needs parliamentary ratification.
🇬🇱 GREENLAND
Nielsen Flags Invasion Risk
Jens-Frederik Nielsen during a news conference in Nuuk, Greenland, January 20.
Greenland's Prime Minister just told Greenlanders to start planning for a possible invasion, even while stressing it is still a long shot.
Scene. On Tuesday, January 20, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stepped up at a press conference in Nuuk to say, "It's not likely there will be a military conflict, but it can't be ruled out."
Analysts. Many agree that U.S. military intervention is highly unlikely. Still, given President Trump’s unpredictability, many politicians say they can’t fully rule out even a low-probability scenario.
Some also argue the media inflates the invasion narrative beyond what the evidence supports, partly to frame President Trump as “dictatorial.”
Another recurring narrative is the idea that the U.S. could spend as much as $700 billion to purchase Greenland—prompting criticism that such a sum would be better spent at home.
That said, Greenland’s strategic geography in the proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system cannot be ignored.
🇻🇪 VENEZUELA
First U.S. Oil Cash
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez
Venezuela says it has collected $300 million from the first U.S.-run sale of its crude after Nicolas Maduro’s arrest.
Receipt. Speaking in Caracas on Tuesday, interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez said the government had already received $300 million from the first $500 million in oil-sale proceeds. The U.S. said last week it completed a $500 million sale of Venezuelan crude.
Stabilize. Rodríguez said the cash would be used to "stabilize" Venezuela’s foreign-exchange market and protect workers’ purchasing power. This means, propping up the bolivar after years of currency turmoil.
Rewrite. Next, the National Assembly is scheduled to debate oil-sector reforms this week, including changes that could reduce the grip of state oil company PDVSA over new investment. Under current hydrocarbon rules, foreign partners must work with PDVSA, which is required to hold a majority stake.
📌 Context: Venezuela sits on the world’s largest crude oil reserves, but much of it is extra-heavy and expensive to produce, and years of mismanagement, underinvestment, and sanctions have throttled output and investment.
