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China’s security services have accused British intelligence agencies of using foreigners to spy on the country, underscoring growing tensions between China and the West over espionage.
The Ministry of National Security said on Monday that Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6, had instructed the head of a foreign consulting firm to enter China multiple times since 2015 to gather intelligence and help recruit talent. .
The statement said the suspected spy was surnamed Huang and was from a “third country.”
The Financial Times was unable to independently verify the ministry’s claims. The British Embassy in Beijing did not respond to requests for comment.
Amid heightened geopolitical tensions, the MSS has made a series of accusations against Western intelligence agencies. China’s powerful intelligence agency has rarely discussed such incidents publicly in the past, but has increasingly done so since establishing a presence on social media platform WeChat last year.
Additionally, over the past year, the Chinese government has increased the number of foreign consulting and due diligence companies operating in China due to concerns that international companies sharing sensitive information with their customers could pose a national security threat. has been cracked down on.
Companies such as Bain & Company, Mintz Group, and CapVision have been the targets of raids and investigations, raising concerns among investors and business community members about their personal safety when doing business in China. is increasing.
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice have also disclosed recent cases of alleged Chinese espionage involving Chinese and U.S. nationals, some of them military personnel and former intelligence officers.
The Financial Times reported last month that the MSS office had been running a Belgian far-right politician as an intelligence agent for more than three years.
The incident raises questions about how China conducts influence operations overseas to shape politics in its favor, including on issues such as the crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and the persecution of Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang. It showed whether there were any.
He also highlighted concerns about the EU’s vulnerability to Chinese espionage as relations between Brussels and China sour.
Last year, the chairman of Britain’s Intelligence and Security Committee warned of “increasingly sophisticated” Chinese espionage operations, calling the UK’s response “wholly inadequate”.
Last year, a parliamentary researcher was arrested on suspicion of spying for the Chinese government, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raised the issue with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September.
But Western authorities have also been accused of being unreasonably suspicious of people of Chinese background or with personal ties to China.
Separately on Sunday, the MSS released a cartoon series promoting anti-espionage efforts. State media said the series tells a “magical story” in which Chinese security officials outwit foreign spies.