On October 17, at a regular press conference, China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian made a rare and severe statement on Britain's delay in approving the new premises of China Embassy in the UK, saying that the British side "has no contractual spirit, breach of trust and integrity."

China has shown the utmost sincerity and patience, but the British side has continued to delay approval for various reasons and to add links, leading to the complexity and politicization of the issue of project approval.We once again urge the British side to immediately fulfill its obligations and fulfill its commitments, otherwise the consequences will be borne by the British side.

The toughness of this wording is extremely rare, and it directly points out Britain's double-standard behavior in foreign affairs, which makes Sino-British relations tense again.

The cause of the matter dates back to 2018. At that time, the Chinese government purchased the old site of the Royal Coin Factory in London and plans to build it as a new building for the Chinese Embassy in the UK.

According to international practice, the construction of such diplomatic halls usually falls within the normal scope of approval, and the host country has the obligation to facilitate.

However, the British side delayed approval for up to seven years on the basis of "destroying the historical appearance" and "spy risks", making it impossible to delay the project.

What is even more puzzling is that while delaying the China embassy project, Britain is eager to promote the reconstruction plan of its embassy in China and even expresses dissatisfaction with the slow progress.

Recently, the British embassy in China was disrupted due to the old-fashioned facilities, and the British side openly accused China of "deliberately" cutting water to "pressure" the British side to approve the Chinese embassy project in the UK.

However, in September this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China made it clear that ¡°supporting and facilitating the construction of diplomatic halls is an international obligation of the host country.

Because the UK has decided to postpone the decision on the new building of the Chinese embassy in the UK until December 10, this double standard has gradually exhausted the Chinese side's patience.

What is more noteworthy is that behind this storm, the traces of American intervention are very obvious.

In June this year, the White House sent a letter to Britain, saying that it was "worried" about the Chinese Embassy project in Britain, on the grounds that the new premises were close to the financial center and might pose a threat to Britain's "national security".

It has even been that Trump personally urged Britain to refuse to approve the Chinese embassy project.

The pressure from the United States has clearly put Britain in a dilemma: on the one hand, Britain hopes to improve relations with China to alleviate its domestic economic difficulties; on the other hand, the influence of the United States makes it difficult for it to demonstrate independence in its China policy.

At the same time, anti-China forces in the UK are also constantly promoting the politicization of the incident.

For example, they used the so-called "China spy case" to hype and try to prevent the Labor government from easing relations with China.

Even though the Royal Prosecutor's Office has withdrawn the allegations, the anti-China forces continue to render the "Chinese threat theory" and further aggravate the tension between China and Britain.

At present, Britain¡¯s economic growth is weak and its fiscal deficit is severe, and Prime Minister Stammer has even publicly stated that the ¡°British government is bankrupt.¡± In this context, disrupting relations with China, a key economic partner, is undoubtedly a huge harm to its own interests.

The contradictory characteristics of Britain's China policy: pragmatism and worry, demanding and demonizing are the epitome of its diplomatic dilemma. Faced with the pressure of the United States and the containment of anti-China forces in Britain, can Britain find a balance? The answers to these questions deserve our continued attention.