Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

50 Chinese students leave UK in three years after spy chiefs’ warning

50 Chinese students leave UK in three years after spy chiefs’ warning

MI5 chief says Chinese communist party targeting intellectual property across west
Fifty Chinese students have left the UK in the past three years after Britain tightened its procedures to prevent the theft of sensitive academic research, the head of MI5 said in a speech about the espionage threat posed by Beijing.

Ken McCallum, the director general of the spy agency, also said that MI5 had “more than doubled” its effort against Chinese activity over the same timeframe, as part of an unprecedented joint warning with his counterpart at the FBI.

The British spy chief said the “most gamechanging challenge” MI5 faced came from an “increasingly authoritarian Chinese Communist party” that was heavily targeting industrial secrets and intellectual property across the west.

A particular focus on Chinese state activity was western universities, McCallum said, and after a reform of the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS), “over 50” students linked to the People’s Liberation Army had left the UK.

The scheme, run by the British government, applies to international students from China and other countries subject to immigration control, who want to engage in research on military technology or other subjects deemed to be sensitive.

The spy chief did not provide further details about the Chinese students who had left, a fraction of the 150,000 that study in the UK, but it formed part of a wider warning about Beijing’s espionage activities aimed primarily at universities, military and hi-tech businesses and related organisations.

McCallum was standing alongside Christopher Wray, the director of the US FBI, who warned that “we consistently see that it is the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security”.

It was a threat that was “more serious” than “even many sophisticated businesspeople realise,” Wray said. The US agency was opening one China related investigation every 12 hours, a level of activity that had increased by 1,300% over the past seven years, the FBI chief added.

The MI5 chief said the agency was running “seven times” as many China-related investigations as it was in 2018 – reflecting both a growing threat and an increased focus on hostile activity from Beijing. McCallum said MI5 expected to double its China-related activities over the next three years.

Western spy agencies have been rapidly switching their focus from Islamist terrorism since the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019 to hostile state activity, primarily from both China and Russia.

Although the invasion of Ukraine has emphasised the security threat posed by Russia, US and UK agencies want to remain focused on Beijing. “The Chinese government is set on stealing your technology … and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market,” Wray said.

McCallum added that China’s “scale of ambition is huge” and that Beijing was focused on “areas of core technology where it would otherwise be impossible for China to catch up with the west by 2050”. Artificial intelligence was a particular area of interest to China, the head of the domestic spy agency added.

China’s efforts to interfere with political processes in the west were not as extensive as its economic efforts, the spy chiefs said. But McCallum said there were “growing indicators” of attempts at political interference in the UK – referring to the case of Christine Lee, who MI5 says sought to improperly influence MPs and peers on behalf of the communist party.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×