Cape Town - Heads of the United States’ FBI and United Kingdom’s MI5 warned of the growing threat posed by the Chinese government and urged business leaders to help the government agencies protect corporate secrets from theft by China.
In a joint press conference where they addressed business leaders in London, FBI Director Christopher Wray and MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said they doubled previously-constrained efforts against Chinese activity of concern and noted that the Chinese government is employing tactics that seek to influence lawmakers and public opinion to achieve policies that are more favourable to China.
“We consistently see that it's the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by 'our,' I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere,” said Wray.
“Outside of China, their government uses elaborate shell games to disguise its efforts from foreign companies and from government investment-screening programs like CFIUS, America's Committee on Foreign Investment in the US,” he said.
Wray added that the Chinese government poses an even more serious threat to Western businesses than even many sophisticated businesspeople realise.
According to FBI Director McCallum, most of what is at risk from Chinese Communist Party aggression is around its world-leading expertise, technology, research, and commercial advantage.
“To be clear, the adversary is not the Chinese people or people of Chinese descent or heritage. The threat comes from the programs and policies pursued by an authoritarian government,” said McCallum.
IOL