The heads of MI5 and FBI had a meeting with each other to warn of the threats from China.
FBI director Christopher Wray said that China is a massive threat to our economic and national security, moreover he said that China also has been interfering in our politics, counting previous elections.
MI5 head Ken McCallum said his service had more than doubled its work against Chinese activity in the last three years and would be doubling it again.
MI5 chief Ken McCallum said that his service had doubled its work against Chines activity in the past three years and would do so again.
He added that MI5 is now investigating the activities of the Chinese Communist Party seven times more than in 2018.
FBI’s chief warned that if China forcibly annexed Taiwan, it would “represent one of the most formidable trade barriers in the world.”
The two directors held their first joint public exhibition at MI5 headquarters in Thames House, London.
MI5 chief also said that the challenge posed by the Chinese Communist Party was “game-changing”, meanwhile Wray called it “excessive” and “breathtaking.”
Wray warned the audience – including business chief executives and senior university figures – that the Chinese government was “ready to steal your technology” using a variety of tools.
“This is an even more serious threat to Western businesses than many sophisticated business people have felt,” he said. He cited cases involving Chinese companies in rural America digging genetically modified seeds that would cost them billions of dollars and nearly a decade to develop.
He also said that China has deployed cyber espionage for “massive fraud and theft”, which has a bigger hacking program than any other major country.
The head of MI5 said that intelligence related to cyber threats has been shared with 37 countries and a state-of-the-art threat against aerospace was cut off in May.
McCallum also gave several examples of China. They included a British aviation expert who went online and was offered lucrative employment opportunities. He traveled to China twice before being asked for “drink and food” by a company for technical information about military aircraft, which was actually a front for Chinese intelligence officers.
“This is where we set foot,” McCallum said. He also said that an engineering firm had been approached by a Chinese company that had stripped it of its technology before canceling the contract, forcing the company to take over Smith-Harlow in 2020.
And he pointed to the interventionist alert issued by Parliament in January about Christine Lee’s activities. He said such measures were aimed at raising the voice of Chinese Communist Party supporters and silencing those who questioned its authority. “It needs to be challenged,” said the head of MI5.
In the United States, the FBI director said the Chinese government had directly interfered in the congressional elections in New York this spring because it did not want to select a candidate who could criticize Tiananmen Square. And a former protester.
He did so, he said, by hiring a private investigator to dig up offensive information. When he found nothing, he said he tried to stir up controversy by using a sex worker before suggesting a car accident.
Wray said China was learning “all sorts of lessons” from the Ukraine conflict. That includes trying to distance itself from future sanctions on Russia. He said that if China invaded Taiwan, the economic disruption would be severe, adding that Western investment in China had become “hostage” and the supply chain had been disrupted.
“I don’t have any reason to think their interest in Taiwan has abated in any fashion,” the FBI director told journalists after the speech.
The MI5 head said new legislation would help to deal with the threat but the UK also needed to become a “harder target” by ensuring that all parts of society were more aware of the risks. He said that reform of the visa system had seen over 50 students linked to the Chinese military leaving the UK.
“China has for far too long counted on being everybody’s second-highest priority,” Wray said, adding: “They are not flying under the radar anymore.”
“I have no reason to think his interest in Taiwan has diminished in any way,” the FBI director told reporters after the speech.
The MI5 chief said the new legislation would help to deal with the threat, but urged the UK to be a “tough target” by making sure all sections of society were aware of the threat. He said more than 50 Chinese military students were leaving the UK as a result of visa reform.
“China has long relied on everyone’s second highest priority , ” Wray said, adding: “They are no longer flying under the radar.”