The UK government has been slow to react to the perceived “threat” posed by China’s robust economic involvement across all sectors of the British economy, including the successful acquisition of universities, according to a warning issued by Members of Parliament (MPs).
The intelligence and security committee of the Parliament expressed in a report that China’s pursuit of achieving economic supremacy constitutes the “most significant risk” to the UK. The report mentioned that Britain and its interests are being “prolifically and aggressively” pursued by China’s state intelligence, with a particular focus on gaining control over crucial industrial and civilian nuclear energy assets.
The report stated, “China’s vast size, ambition and capabilities have allowed it to permeate every sector of the UK’s economy.” It also noted that Beijing has shown exceptional effectiveness in utilising its financial resources and influence to infiltrate or purchase academic institutions, thereby promoting its global narrative and suppressing criticism.
‘China capitalised on economic relationships’ However, the committee revealed that the Government’s response was “utterly insufficient”, cautioning that economic opportunism should not take precedence over security concerns.
“The UK is now in a situation where it has to catch up and the entire Government must work to comprehend and counteract the threat from China,” the report stated.
The report highlighted the fact that China had leveraged the strategies of successive British governments aimed at enhancing economic ties between the UK and China, which has facilitated China’s pursuit of commercial, scientific, technological and industrial objectives, thereby gaining a strategic advantage.
“China has been acquiring and attempting to control or influence the UK’s industry and energy sectors, and until the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese investments were readily welcomed by the Government with minimal scrutiny.
“The Government must ensure that its priorities are in order and that economic interests do not continually overshadow security concerns,” the report emphasised.
The committee, led by Julian Lewis MP, discovered that the UK was “just below China’s top priority targets”, largely due to its close ties with the US and its influential standing.
“The global ambition of China to become a technological and economic superpower, on which other countries are dependent, is the biggest threat to the UK,” it concluded.
“China’s state intelligence apparatus, likely the largest in the world with hundreds of thousands of civil intelligence officers, persistently and assertively targets the UK and its interests, posing a challenge for our intelligence agencies.”
The report cautioned, “China has positioned itself to capitalise on the damage to world economies and may well emerge from the pandemic stronger than before.”
