Speaking to corporate officials and executives, MI5 CEO Ken McCallum and FBI Director Chris Wray said the threat from Chinese spies is very high in both countries and growing.
McCallum pointed out that MI5, Britain’s domestic intelligence service, had greatly expanded its operations centered in China. “We are currently doing seven times as many investigations as we did in 2018,” the director of MI5 said. “We plan to grow again while maintaining significant efforts against hidden threats from Russia and Iran,” he added.
McCallum noted that Chinese intelligence is slowly and patiently approaching sources and access to information. “In terms of volume, most of what is threatened by the Chinese Communist Party’s aggression is not, so to speak, my business. It’s yours, the world-class experience, technology, research and commercial advantage developed and in the hands of the people in this room.”
The FBI’s Ray said the Chinese threat is a “complex, ongoing and wide-ranging danger” to the US and UK, as well as other allies. China is “seeking to steal your technology, everything that drives your industry, and use it to undermine your business and dominate your market,” he said.
Both officials also warned that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province, would cause a massive disruption to global trade and industry. They urged companies to remain vigilant and report potential threats.
“The Chinese Communist Party is interested in our democratic, media and legal systems. Unfortunately, not to copy them, but to use them to your advantage,” McCallum said.
Beijing called the accusations “completely unfounded.” “The alleged cases listed are pure persecution of lies,” a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom said in a statement posted on the mission’s website.
“They are spreading all sorts of lies about China to discredit the Chinese political system, stir up anti-Chinese sentiment, and divert public attention to cover up their heinous acts,” the spokesman added.
