Security heads warn of China spies
The head of the FBI and the leader of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency raised fresh alarms yesterday about the Chinese Government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain.
FBI director Christopher Wray reaffirmed longstanding concerns in denouncing economic espionage and hacking operations by China as well as the Chinese Government’s efforts to stifle dissent abroad. But his speech was notable because it took place at MI5’s London headquarters and alongside the agency’s director-general, Ken McCallum, in an intended show of Western solidarity.
The remarks also showed the extent to which Wray and the FBI regard the Chinese Government as a law enforcement and intelligence
challenge, and how they are also attuned to the implications of Beijing’s foreign policy actions.
‘‘We consistently see that it is the Chinese Government that
poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by ‘our’, I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere,’’ Wray said.
McCallum said the Chinese Government and its ‘‘covert pressure across the globe’’ amounted to ‘‘the most game-changing challenge we face’’.
‘‘This might feel abstract. But it is real and it is pressing,’’ he said. ‘‘We need to talk about it. ‘‘We need to act.’’
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, rejected the allegations from the Western leaders, saying in an emailed statement to The Associated Press that China ‘‘firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber-attacks’’, and calling the accusations groundless.
‘‘We will never encourage, support or condone cyberattacks,’’ the statement said.
In a nod to current tensions between China and Taiwan, Wray also said during his speech that any forcible takeover of Taiwan by Beijing ‘‘would represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen’’. Last week, the US Government’s director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, said at an event in Washington that there were no indications Chinese President Xi Jinping was poised to take Taiwan by military force. But she did say that Xi appeared to be ‘‘pursuing the potential’’ for such an action as part of a broader Chinese Government goal of reunification with Taiwan.
After the appearance with his British counterpart, Wray said that he would leave to others the question of whether an invasion of Taiwan was more or less likely after Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. But, he said, ‘‘I don’t have any reason to think their interest in Taiwan has abated in any fashion’’ and added that he hoped China had learned what happens ‘‘when you overplay your hand’’, as he said the Russians had done in Ukraine.