China targets UK ‘prolifically and aggressively’, Westminster’s spy agency watchdog warns
China targets the UK “prolifically and aggressively” in a way that poses a “challenge” for British intelligence agencies, Parliament’s spy agency watchdog has said.
A new and wide-ranging report by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) is critical of the UK Government’s response to the threat posed by China, questioning the trade-off between economic interest and security concerns.
It also raises concerns about Chinese influence in UK universities and the country’s intention to become a “permanent and significant player” in the civil nuclear energy industry.
The report, published on Thursday, said the UK is of “significant interest to China when it comes to espionage and interference”, placing the country “just below China’s top priority targets”.
It said: “China’s state intelligence apparatus – almost certainly the largest in the world with hundreds of thousands of civil intelligence officers…. targets the UK and its interests prolifically and aggressively, and presents a challenge for our Agencies to cover.”
Chaired by Conservative MP Sir Julian Lewis, the nine-member committee scrutinises the work of the UK’s intelligence agencies including MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.
Its reports are approved by the Prime Minister before release.
The latest report comes amid ongoing tensions between the West and the rising Asian power.
The Government has characterised the growing influence of China as an “epoch-defining challenge” but some backbench MPs have pushed for a more hawkish approach to Beijing.
But the ISC report said the UK’s resources are “completely inadequate” when it came to tackling what committee members labelled China’s “whole-of-state” approach.
It said this is where state-owned and non-state-owned companies, as well as academic and cultural establishments and ordinary Chinese citizens, are “co-opted” into espionage and interference operations.
It warned of a danger of short-term thinking and a lack of long-term planning to counter the threat posed by China.
“The UK is severely handicapped by the short-termist approach currently being taken.”
In evidence to MPs, MI5 director-general Ken McCallum said: “The challenge of the rise of China absolutely raises huge questions for the future of the western alliance…
“None of us can give a confident long-term answer to exactly how the balance of power plays out globally across the next few decades, but it is clear for all of us that this is, I think, the central intelligence challenge for us across the next decade.”
MPs raise particular concerns about Chinese influence in UK universities.
The report said British “academic institutions provide a rich feeding ground for China to achieve political influence in the UK and economic advantage over the UK”.
It added: “In order to control the narrative of debate, China exerts influence over institutions by leveraging fees and funding, over individual UK academics through inducements and intimidation, over Chinese students by monitoring and controlling, and over think thanks through coercion. ”
But MPs said the Government has shown “very little interest” in warnings from academics about the matter.
The report also flagged concerns about the role China is playing in the civil nuclear energy sector.
China General Nuclear last year exited the Sizewell C nuclear power plant project in Suffolk but MPs said serious questions remain for ministers about future projects.
“The Government would be naive to assume that allowing Chinese companies to exert influence over the UK’s civil nuclear and energy sectors is not ceding control to the Chinese Communist Party,” the report said.
“It is therefore unacceptable for the Government still to be considering Chinese involvement in the UK’s critical national infrastructure at a granular level.
“We have serious concerns about the incentive and opportunity for espionage that Chinese involvement in the UK’s civil nuclear sector provides. While we recognise that the threat of disruption is less likely, the threat of leverage is very real.”
The Government is required to respond to the report, with a copy of the document laid before Parliament on Thursday.
In June, the ISC said it was “seeking answers” about a delay in gaining Downing Street approval of the report.
Dominic McGrath – Press Association