Brexit and cooling China-UK ties freeze plans for new Canary Wharf

The US$2.2 billion project was meant to transform 35 acres of derelict London riverfront into a bustling finance hub

But the 21 London buildings are lying empty as geopolitical changes have unsettled Chinese and Asian investors, says developer Xu Weiping

Reading Time:4 minutes

Developer Xu Weiping walks through derelict land at Royal Albert Dock in east London on May 29, 2013. File photo: Reuters

Published: 12:18pm, 31 Jul 2020Updated: 8:04pm, 31 Jul 2020

Five years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-British Prime Minister David Cameron were on hand to toast the signing of the deal to transform 35 acres of derelict London riverfront into a bustling finance hub.

Now, in the wake of Brexit and a cooling of Sino-British ties, developer Xu Weiping’s vision for another Canary Wharf packed with Chinese companies looks more like a mirage.

Overlooking the Thames, along the old Royal Albert Docks and across the water from City Airport, stand 21 new buildings that form the first phase of the £1.7 billion (US$2.2 billion) project. They are almost all empty.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-British Prime Minister David Cameron at a pub in northwest London on October 22, 2015. Photo: AFP

“All of these geopolitical changes have brought uncertainty, which affected the mindset of Chinese and Asian investors,” says Xu, a China-born citizen of the Seychelles who has been in London since the outbreak of the pandemic.

“Some of them already paid deposits, but because of those changes they had a change of heart. Therefore the tension between China and the UK definitely brought risks to our project here.”

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