The failed prosecution of two British men accused of spying for China continues to roil Westminster, sparking recriminations against the government and concern among MPs about their privacy and security.
The case against the men was dropped last month, with the director of public prosecutions saying the British government had failed to provide sufficient evidence that China was a ‘threat to national security’. Both men – one of whom advised MPs on China policy – have consistently denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
But, looking beyond this messy case, the UK needs to do much more to tackle the very real threat of Chinese espionage, infiltration and influence operations. China is both an important economic partner and a systemic rival to the UK, with many areas of overlapping and clashing national interests. The UK government must be able to talk to Beijing and do business with China – while protecting the country from the long arm of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
In its recent national security strategy, the government acknowledged that ‘instances of China’s espionage, interference in our democracy and the undermining of our economic security have increased in recent years’. Publicly documented cases of the intimidation of UK-based Hong Kong activists, attempts to meddle in the UK parliament, and cyberattacks are likely just the tip of the iceberg. The head of MI5, the UK’s domestic intelligence agency, said in his annual threat update that his agency had intervened in the last week to stop a Chinese threat to national security.
While all countries spy on and seek to influence each other, China presents an intelligence challenge of unprecedented scale and ambition. It is not only the world’s largest authoritarian regime but an economic and technological superpower.
But prosecutions will always be a last resort in tackling espionage, because of the high bar for convictions and the sensitivities of disclosing covertly gathered counter-intelligence. The damage is also already done once the there is enough evidence to bring a case.
Prevention is a much better long-term approach.
Given how much China will shape the world over the coming years, the UK needs to do much more to prepare itself.
After conducting a China audit earlier this year, the government pledged to boost China capabilities in the national security system. But it needs to expand knowledge about the dangers that China presents far beyond a relatively small group of officials.
The government needs to invest significantly in helping politicians, officials, businesses, universities and wider society understand the ways in which the CPC seeks to protect and further its interests – and how to respond. As the head of MI5 said alongside his FBI counterpart in 2022: China represents of a whole-of-system challenge that needs a ‘profound whole-of-system response’.
The risks in parliament are particularly high, with more than half of MPs – 335 out of 650 – elected for the first time in July 2024. MPs rely on small teams of often young, poorly paid and inexperienced staff, and have a high turnover in their offices. These vulnerabilities mean that even clumsy influence operations are more likely to succeed.
Local government is another weak point. China often seeks to leverage its economically focused relationships with councils and regional administrations to advance its own agendas. This approach was highlighted by a recent case in which Edinburgh’s city council scrapped a proposed friendship agreement with the Taiwanese city Kaohsiung after Chinese pressure.
A new MI5 guide for those in politics titled ‘Countering Espionage and Foreign Interference’ is a helpful starting point. But it highlights the general rather than China-specific threats.
The challenge goes beyond the world of politics. Businesses and universities too are struggling to balance the rewards and risks of their extensive engagements with China. Chinese intelligence operatives see commerce and education as soft targets in their efforts to gain access to technology, economic leverage and influence.
But there are steps the UK government can take to boost resilience.
While China brings a wealth of resources to its intelligence campaigns, and is particularly adept at cyber espionage, many of its other attempts to influence politics and public life in the UK and other democracies are not very sophisticated. Unlike with the communist states of the Cold War, the CPC has few ideological supporters in the UK.
If British officials, politicians, businesspeople and the wider public are more aware of the party’s tactics, they will be better able to resist them.
