Chinese state intelligence 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 senior MPs on the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) is scathing about the government’s “completely inadequate” response to the threat posed by China.
It sparked an immediate row with Rishi Sunak – who insisted that his government was not “complacent” about China. But MPs on the committe branded his response “weak” and accused him of trying to “undermine the committee”.
The damining report raises concerns about China’s “coercive” influence in UK universities and Beijing’s intention to become a “permanent and significant player” in the civil nuclear energy industry.
The dossier published on Thursday also 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” around the world.
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 Tory MP Sir Julian Lewis, the nine-member committee scrutinises the work of the UK’s intelligence agencies including MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. Mr Sunak, who approved the report, is under growing pressure from Tory MPs to toughen his stance on China.
The Sunak government has characterised the growing influence of China as an “epoch-defining challenge” but some backbench MPs – including former PM Liz Truss – have pushed for a more hawkish approach to Beijing.
The report said the government’s approach for dealing with the security threat posed by China is “completely inadequate” – with too much focus on short-term economics rather than long-term risks.
Senior Tory Bob Seely, a leading China hawk, told The Independent: “It basically substantiates everything China-sceptics have been saying. There is a battle of values in the 21st century, between open societies like our own and closed societies like China.”
Responding to the report, Mr Sunak insisted that his government was “not complacent” and would “continue adapting our approach and actions to meet the challenge that China presents”.
In a written statement he also said: “We are not complacent and we are keenly aware that there is more to do. Wherever China’s actions or intent threaten the national interest, we will continue to take swift action.”
But committee member Kevan Jones, a senior Labour MP, called it a “weak” response and said the written response not been shared with MPs – saying it “shows you, I think, the depth to which the government is trying to again undermine the committee”.
The report raise particular concerns about Chinese influence in UK universities – saying the government has shown “very little interest” in warnings from academics, despite being “rich feeding ground” for Beijing.
It warned that 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”.
Liz Truss has warned the Cold War with China has already begun
The report also said it was “unacceptable” for the government to be considering any Chinese involvement in the UK’s civil nuclear industry.
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.
The report found that state-owned and non-state-owned companies – as well as academic, cultural establishments and ordinary Chinese citizens – are “co-opted” into espionage and interference operations.
China has exited the Sizewell C nuclear plant project in Suffolk
