MI5 and FBI Warns to be Vigilant When Dealing with Chinese Owned Companies

At an unprecedented joint speech at MI5's London HQ, the heads of MI5 and the FBI warned companies to be more vigilant in their dealings with Chinese owned companies, wherever they are, and more attuned to the fact that their dealings with Chinese companies probably involved Beijing's intelligence arms, which could give rise to 'hidden manipulation' and – because China takes 'the long view' – they may also target politicians and young business people tipped for the top.

"I want to encourage you to take the long view as you gauge the threat", said Christopher Wray the FBI's Director, "When you deal with a Chinese company, know you're also dealing with the Chinese Government – that is the MSS and the PLA – too, almost like silent partners."

He added that the MSS, which runs China's overseas espionage, was homing in on western companies that it wanted to "ransack" for corporate secrets, so that it could undercut non-Chinese businesses and dominate their markets. It was targeting advances in technology, research and other sectors, and using the West's democratic, media and legal systems to their own advantage.

He cited cases in which people linked to Chinese companies out in rural America had been digging up genetically modified seeds which would have cost them billions of dollars and nearly a decade to develop themselves.

China posed "an even more serious threat to western businesses than even many sophisticated businesspeople realised", he said, using "elaborate shell games" to disguise their spying, and using special purpose acquisition vehicles (SPACS), and deployed cyber espionage to "cheat and steal on a massive scale", with a hacking programme larger than that of every other major country combined.

Ken McCallum, Head of MI5, said that since 2018 MI5 had seen a seven times increase in 'China-related investigations, and had doubled capacity to combat Chinese spying and was looking to increase it further. In the US, Mr Wray reported, the FBI are opening two new investigations into Chinese spying every day, on average. Intelligence about cyber threats had been shared with 37 countries and in May there was a sophisticated threat against aerospace, which had been disrupted. Both noted that China was their biggest "game-changing challenge".

The FBI's Wray also warned that if China was to forcibly take Taiwan it would "represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen".

This was the first ever joint appearance of the MI5 and FBI Heads.

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