See examples of Beijing office space here.
Richard Barrett is convinced that Beijing is a great place for European businesses to operate from and that his company’s expansion into office space in the Chinese capital was an excellent and worthwhile endeavour.
He told the Irish Times recently that China offers major opportunities to commercial development firms like his, partly because local governments are clear on the need for more expansive infrastructure systems to cope with the pace and scale of the country’s economic growth.
Apparently urging Irish companies to establish permanent operating bases and to occupy high-quality office space in Beijing, Mr Barrett said: “There is no point in flying out for two weeks, you need to be here.”
“You need to take more time, have more people, money and stamina. And Chinese people are like Irish people – they like singing, drinking and laughing.”
Treasury Holdings is currently based in Beijing’s central business district, but the company’s chairman has noted considerable opportunities in smaller Chinese cities, most of which have populations larger than those of Ireland.
As well as in Beijing, Treasury Holdings currently occupies office space in London and Dublin, and has a property development portfolio that extends across Europe, Russia and China.
CBRE recently put London’s West End at the top of its list of the world’s most expensive office space markets, with Hong Kong in second and Tokyo, Mumbai and Moscow in third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Editor’s notes: In the first 3 months of 2023, the vacancy rate in Beijing climbed 0.5 per cent to 16.8 per cent, and the average office rent was RMB322 per square metre per month.
Office agents in the Chinese capital reported difficulties in leasing out premium office space, indicating that the market was yet to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic.
It was also reported that over 570,000 square metres of office space was expected to be added to the market in 2023.
Whilst levels of enquiries and viewings were up in the first quarter of 2023, Beijing remained a tenant’s market for office space.
Research in June 2026 found that, in Savill’s 2025 Q4 edition of its Global Occupier Markets: Prime Office Costs report, Beijing was the 19th most expensive location in which to rent office space worldwide.
London’s West End district was the most expensive, and Hong Kong was second.
In Q4 2025, Knight Frank reported that the citywide average rent in Beijing declined 3.9 per cent quarter on quarter and 12.7 per cent year on year to RMB219.7 per square metre per month, and that the vacancy rate had declined slightly to 17 per cent.