The heads of the FBI and MI5 warned on Wednesday (July 6th) of a surge in Chinese commercial espionage in the West, during a rare joint address at British intelligence headquarters in London.
Before an audience of officials and business executives at Thames House, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum and US Federal Police Director Chris Wray said the threat from Chinese spies was growing.
According to Ken McCallum, MI5, the United Kingdom's internal intelligence service, has taken care to expand its operations in connection with China.
"Today we are conducting seven times more investigations than in 2018
," he said.
"We plan to expand again by as much, while maintaining a major effort against covert Russian and Iranian threats
. "
Read alsoCyberattacks, disinformation, industrial surveillance... The great offensive of Chinese spies
According to him, Chinese intelligence services take a slow and patient approach to developing sources and accessing information, and few of those targeted identify themselves as such.
“Hostile activities are currently taking place on British soil
,” he said.
Chris Wray said the Chinese threat was a
"complex, enduring and pervasive danger"
to the United States and Britain as well as other allies.
China is
"determined to steal your technology...and use it to undermine your business and dominate your market
," he said.
Both men also warned that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would massively disrupt global trade and industry.
They called on the business community to remain vigilant and report possible threats.
“The Chinese Communist Party is interested in our democratic, media and legal systems.
Not to imitate them, unfortunately, but to use them for his benefit
,” McCallum said.
