The arrest of a suspected Chinese spy at the heart of the British government has shocked the entire West, raising urgent questions about how Beijing collects intelligence.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confronted China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang over his country’s “unacceptable” interference in British democracy, while MPs have said this marks an “escalation” in hostilities by the superpower .
It is not the first time that China has been condemned for the alleged use of spies. The incident follows accusations earlier this year that China launched a surveillance balloon over the United States, causing a diplomatic furor.
A multitude of Chinese espionage techniques have been documented over the years, with spies arrested and companies sanctioned for their alleged roles.
Here, MailOnline looks at some of the ways China has worked to spy on the West in recent years.
The arrest of a suspected Chinese spy at the heart of the British government has shocked the West, raising fresh fears about how Beijing collects intelligence.
The incident follows allegations earlier this year that China flew a surveillance balloon over the United States.
Cyberwar
The United States warned in 2022 that the Asian giant represents ‘the most extensive, active and persistent cyber espionage threat’ to its government and its private sector.
According to Western researchers and intelligence officials, China has become adept at hacking into the digital systems of rival nations to collect trade secrets.
In 2021, the United States, NATO and other allies said China had employed “hired hackers” to exploit a gap in Microsoft’s email systems, giving state security agents access to sensitive information.
Chinese spies have also hacked into the U.S. energy department, utilities, telecommunications companies and universities, according to U.S. government statements and media reports.
The United States also has its own ways of spying on China, deploying surveillance and interception techniques as well as networks of informants.
Technological fears
In 2019, the US Department of Justice charged tech giant Huawei with conspiring to steal US trade secrets, among other crimes.
In the technology sector, there are concerns that state-linked Chinese companies will be forced to share information with their government.
In 2019, the US Department of Justice charged tech giant Huawei with conspiring to steal US trade secrets, among other crimes.
Washington banned the company from supplying US government systems and strongly discouraged use of its equipment in the private sector for fear it could be compromised.
Huawei denies the charges.
Similar anxiety over TikTok, developed by China’s ByteDance, has been the subject of heated debate in the West, with some lawmakers calling for an outright ban on the app over data security fears.
ByteDance was accused last year of allowing members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to access the data of Hong Kong civil rights activists, accusations the company refuted as “baseless.”
Earlier this year, it was announced that TikTok would be blocked on “all parliamentary devices and the wider parliamentary network”, to ensure cyber security.
TikTok, developed by China’s ByteDance, enlivens Western political debate
Industrial and military espionage
Beijing has used Chinese nationals abroad to gather intelligence and steal sensitive technology, according to experts, U.S. lawmakers and media reports.
One of the most notorious cases was that of Ji Chaoqun, who in January was sentenced to eight years in prison in the United States for sharing information about possible recruitment targets with Chinese intelligence.
Ji was accused of providing information on eight people to the Ministry of Security of Jiangsu Province, an intelligence unit accused of participating in the theft of American trade secrets.
Ji Chaoqun was sentenced to eight years in prison in the United States for sharing information about possible recruiting targets with Chinese intelligence
Xu Yanjun was found guilty of playing a leading role in a five-year Chinese state-backed scheme to steal trade secrets from GE Aviation.
Last year, a US court sentenced a Chinese intelligence officer to 20 years in prison for stealing technology from US and French aerospace companies.
The man, named Xu Yanjun, was found guilty of playing a leading role in a five-year Chinese state-backed scheme to steal trade secrets from GE Aviation, one of the world’s leading aircraft engine manufacturers, and the group. French Safran.
In 2020, a US court jailed Raytheon engineer Wei Sun, a Chinese national and naturalized US citizen, for bringing sensitive information about a US missile system to China on a company laptop.
Spy on politicians
Chinese agents have allegedly courted the political, social and business elites of Britain and the United States to obtain information that could be useful to the CCP.
The alleged Chinese spy in Westminster had contacts with Conservative MPs while working as a parliamentary researcher and worked in international politics, including relations with Beijing, according to the Sunday Times.
US news website axios led an investigation in 2020 alleging that a Chinese student enrolled at a California university had developed ties with a series of American politicians under the auspices of Beijing’s main civilian spy agency.
Christine Fang, or Fang Fang, was accused of developing ties with a series of American politicians under the auspices of Beijing’s main civilian spy agency.
The student, a Chinese national named Christine Fang or Fang Fang, used campaign finance, developed friendships and even initiated sexual relationships to attack rising politicians between 2011 and 2015, according to the report.
He alleged that through “campaign fundraising, a broad network of contacts, personal charisma, and romantic or sexual relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors, Fang was able to move closer to political power,” citing former officials as sources. American intelligence.
Another technique used by Chinese agents is to peddle inside knowledge about the opaque inner workings of the Communist Party and offer access to top leaders to attract high-profile Western targets, researchers say.
The goal has been to “deceive world leaders about (Beijing’s) ambitions” and make them believe that “China will rise peacefully, perhaps even democratically,” author Alex Joske wrote in his book “Spies and Lies: How China’s Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World’.
Beijing has also put pressure on overseas Chinese communities and media organizations to support its policies on Taiwan and muzzle criticism of crackdowns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
‘Police stations’
Beijing has established more than 100 “police stations” around the world, according to reports
Beijing is alleged to have set up more than 100 so-called “police stations” abroad, used to monitor Chinese citizens living in exile, according to a report shared with CNN.
In September 2022, the Spain-based NGO Safeguard Defenders said China had established 54 overseas “police stations” around the world, supposedly to target critics of the Communist Party.
Methods could reportedly include harassment and even forced repatriation.
Beijing has denied the claims.
The Netherlands ordered China to close two “police stations” there in November.
A month later, the Czech Republic said China had closed two such centers in Prague.
