The head of the FBI and the head of Britain’s domestic intelligence delivered an unprecedented joint address, raising fresh alarm for the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive advantage.
In a speech at MI5 headquarters in London intended as a show of Western solidarity, Christopher Wray, the FBI director, stood by MI5 director-general Ken McCallum. Wray echoed longstanding concerns about economic espionage and hacking operations from China, as well as the Chinese government’s efforts to stifle dissent abroad.
“We have consistently seen that the Chinese government is the one that poses the greatest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by ‘our’ I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere,” Wray said.
He told the audience that the Chinese government is “out to steal your technology, whatever it is that makes your industry work, and use it to undermine your business and dominate your market.”
Ken McCallum said MI5 was carrying out seven times more investigations into China than it did four years ago and planned to “grow again” to deal with the widespread inferences that seep into “so many aspects of our national life”. .
“Today marks the first time the heads of the FBI and MI5 have shared a public platform,” McCallum said. “We’re doing this to send the clearest possible signal about a huge shared challenge: China.”
McCallum said the Chinese government and its “covert pressure around the world” represented “the most game-changing challenge we face”.
“This may seem abstract. But it’s real and it’s pressing,” he said. “We need to talk about this. We must act.”
Chinese Embassy in Washington spokesman Liu Pengu rejected the Western leaders’ accusations, saying in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that China “firmly opposes and fights all forms of cyber attacks” and called the accusations baseless.
“We will never encourage, support or condone cyber attacks,” the statement said.
In a sign of current tensions between China and Taiwan, Ray also said during his speech that any forcible takeover of Taipei by Beijing “would represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen.”
Last week, the US government’s director of national intelligence, Avril Haynes, told an event in Washington that there was no indication that Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, was ready to take Taiwan by military force. But she said Xi appeared to be “pursuing the potential” of such action as part of the Chinese government’s broader goal of unification with Taiwan.
After the appearance, Ray said he would leave to others the question of whether an invasion of Taiwan is more likely or less likely following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But he said: “I have no reason to think that their interest in Taiwan has waned in any way,” adding that he hoped China had learned what happens “when you overplay your hand,” as Russia put it.
Joe Biden said in May that the US would respond militarily if China invaded Taiwan, offering one of the White House’s strongest statements in support of Taiwan’s self-rule in decades. The White House later tried to play down the impact of the statement, saying Biden did not outline a change in US policy toward Taiwan, a self-governing island that China views as a breakaway province that should be reunited with the mainland.
The embassy spokesman said the Taiwan issue was “purely China’s internal matter” and said that when it comes to China’s territory and sovereignty, the country has “no room for compromise or concession.”
“We will pursue the prospect of peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity and effort,” the statement said, but noted that China “will retain the ability to take all necessary measures in response to interference by foreign powers.”
The Associated Press and the Press Association contributed reporting
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