FBI Director Christopher Wray said the Chinese government “poses the greatest long-term threat” to the economic and national security of the UK, US and allies in Europe and elsewhere.
The heads of Britain’s MI5 and the US FBI warned of the growing long-term threat China poses to British and US interests in their first joint appearance on Wednesday.
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said the agency had already “more than doubled our previously limited efforts against worrying Chinese activity”, adding that it was conducting seven times more investigations than in 2018.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the Chinese government “poses the greatest long-term threat” to the economic and national security of the UK, US and allies in Europe and elsewhere.
“The Chinese government is trying to shape the world by meddling in our political affairs (and the political affairs of our allies, I should add),” said Rei, who added that Beijing directly interfered in the congressional elections held this year in New York, as he did not want to elect a candidate who criticized it and was a former Tiananmen Square protester.
Ray warned that the Chinese government “poses an even more serious threat to Western businesses than many businessmen realize” and is “ready to steal our technology.”
The Chinese government’s hacking program is “larger than the similar programs of all other major countries combined,” according to Ray.
Britain shared intelligence with 37 countries last year to help them defend against cyber espionage, McCallum said, adding that a threat targeting critical aerospace companies was foiled in May.
Speaking of Taiwan, which China considers a province, Rei said China may try to take it by force and, if that happens, “it will be one of the most terrifying business disruptions the world has ever seen.” world”.
“The widespread Western assumption that increasing prosperity within China and its increasing connectivity with the West will automatically lead to greater political freedom has, I’m afraid, been shown to be wrong,” McCallum said.
“The accusations by US and British officials against China are completely baseless and the so-called cases they listed are pure shams,” a Chinese embassy spokesman in the UK said in response to a question about McCallum and Ray’s comments.
The spokesman said China calls on both countries to “understand the trend of the times well, abandon the long-overdue Cold War mentality, stop talking about ‘Chinese threat’ and stop creating confrontation and conflicts”.
Speaking at MI5 headquarters in Thames House, London, the two security chiefs gave numerous examples of China-related issues, asking the audience, which included businessmen and academics, to be vigilant and encouraging them to co-operate with the FBI and MI5 to have appropriate information about this threat.
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