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 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.
The MP 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.
From academia, which was a “rich feeding ground” for China to exert political sway, to an over-reliance on Chinese technology, the government had placed too much emphasis on investment over potential security harms, its report said.
“We found that the level of resource dedicated to tackling the threat posed by China’s ‘whole of state’ approach has been completely inadequate, and the slow speed at which strategies and policies are developed and implemented leaves a lot to be desired,” the ISC said.
The report was approved by Rishi Sunak before release, and comes amid ongoing tensions between the UK and its allies and the rising Asian power.
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.
It comes as it also emerged that the UK sent nearly £50m to China in aid last year, as a watchdog complained of “insufficient transparency” in how money is spent.
A new report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact found that aid to China was around £48m in 2021/22 – a fall from just over £80m in 2019.
But Sir Hugh Bayley, who led the latest review, warned that while UK aid to China has fallen rapidly, taxpayers “are still not being told clearly how much aid will continue and what it will be spent on”.
He added: “Average incomes in China will soon be too high for the country to continue to receive foreign aid and there appears to be no clear government strategy for how to manage this.”