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MI5 boss Ken McCallum (left) and FBI boss Christopher Wray at the joint press conference
Photo: Dominic Lipinski/AP
The security authorities in the USA and Great Britain apparently see the economy and national security of their countries increasingly threatened by China.
In a first joint statement on Wednesday, the heads of Britain's MI5 and its US counterpart, the FBI, Ken McCallum and Christopher Wray expressed alarm at the rise in potentially harmful Chinese activities.
China currently poses "the greatest long-term threat" not only to Britain and the United States, but also to allies in Europe and the rest of the world, FBI Director Wray said.
McCallum said MI5 had massively stepped up its crackdown on "Chinese activity of concern."
Compared to 2018, there were seven times as many investigations into China.
“That might feel abstract.
But it's real and urgent,' McCallum said.
'We need to talk about it.
We have to take action."
»Chinese government tries to change the world«
Wray blamed the Chinese government directly.
"The Chinese government is trying to change the world by interfering in our politics," the FBI director said.
For example, Beijing influenced the congressional elections in the US state of New York.
China is a major threat to many companies because the government there is out to "steal our technology," Wray said.
Hacking activities commanded by the Chinese government are also greater than those of any other country, according to Wray.
Concern about attack on Taiwan
The US secret service agent was also geopolitically concerned.
Referring to Taiwan, Wray said China could use force to regain control of the island.
This would be "one of the worst economic disruptions the world has ever seen," warned the FBI chief.
China regards self-governing Taiwan as a breakaway province.
McCallum, however, rejected the idea that China's increasing economic ties to the West would lead to more political freedoms in the People's Republic.
He fears that this has turned out to be "completely wrong," said the intelligence official.
The West has been accusing China of hacking attacks on companies, authorities, politicians and parties for a long time.
According to SPIEGEL information, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution warned German companies in January of a new wave of hacker attacks from China.
fek/Reuters/AP
