Britain’s MI5 has accused a Chinese organization with links to Beijing’s state security service of funding academic research in sensitive fields including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and covert communications.
In an unprecedented public alert issued on Wednesday, the UK security agency said more than 100 academics based in Britain had contributed to research projects funded by the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI), which it said had “very strong ties” to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), the country’s civilian intelligence agency.
MI5 said the organization’s primary purpose was to finance research that could strengthen the MSS’s technical capabilities for espionage.
The agency said UK academics had worked on CGTRI-funded projects covering AI, cybersecurity, covert communications systems and steganography, a technique used to conceal information within messages or other objects.
“This activity supports MSS espionage, which poses a threat to UK national security,” MI5 said.
MI5 Issues First Public Espionage Alert
MI5 said the warning was the first time it had independently published an espionage alert publicly.
The announcement adds to a growing series of British allegations about Chinese espionage and comes as the UK government seeks to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties with Beijing.
MI5 said many academics and institutions had worked with CGTRI in good faith and may not have known about what it described as the organization’s close links to Chinese intelligence.
However, the agency warned that continuing such relationships could expose individuals to prosecution under Britain’s National Security Act, introduced in 2023 to strengthen the country’s ability to tackle foreign espionage and other hostile state activity.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said he had written to university leaders across Britain urging them to ensure staff ended relationships with the Chinese organization.
“This alert exposes attempts by Chinese intelligence to covertly benefit from the expertise and research of our academics, undermining our national security, and that of our allies,” Jarvis said.
He added that international research partnerships remained important but said the government would take action against perceived security threats.
China Rejects Espionage Allegations
China has repeatedly rejected British and other Western accusations of espionage, describing previous allegations as unfounded.
China’s embassy in London dismissed the latest warning as “entirely fabricated” and accused Britain of maliciously attacking China.
The allegations therefore add another point of tension between London and Beijing, even as Britain attempts to deepen economic engagement with China.
The British government has sought closer ties with Beijing to support trade and investment and has approved plans for China to construct what would become its largest embassy in Europe in London.
At the same time, British security agencies have repeatedly warned about alleged Chinese efforts to obtain sensitive information and influence British institutions.
Growing UK Concerns Over Chinese Intelligence
MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum said last year that Chinese espionage represented a daily national security threat to Britain and accused Chinese intelligence officers of using fake job advertisements to target British professionals with access to valuable information.
In November, MI5 also warned British lawmakers that Chinese agents were attempting to gather information and influence their activities while posing as recruiters or representatives of companies.
In June, security agencies from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, comprising Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, issued a joint warning about Chinese intelligence services allegedly using online employment platforms to recruit people with access to sensitive information.
The latest MI5 alert extends those concerns into the academic sector, particularly research involving technologies that could have intelligence and security applications.
