MI5 and FBI chiefs jointly warn of the growing threat from CCP

Communist China poses a growing threat to British and U.S. interests, the heads of Britain’s MI5 and the FBI warned in their first joint address on July 6.

 MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said the biggest challenge to the UK comes from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He noted that MI5 is conducting seven times as many investigations involving CCP espionage as it did in 2018 and plans to double the number currently being investigated in the coming years. McCallum said, “CCP is not only attempting to influence the nation’s leaders or key cabinet members but is also prepared to invest in developing agents at the local government level.

 According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, the CCP is the largest long-term threat to the economy and national security of the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, and other local allies. Wray noted that the CCP is attempting to reshape the world by interfering with the policies of Western nations. He warned that CCP is stealing technology from Western companies and that its threat is even more serious than many in the business community realize. He also said that the CCP learns from the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. CCP tries to find ways to insulate Communist China’s economy from Western sanctions in the event of an invasion of Taiwan. He believes that CCP has not given up on the idea of using force against Taiwan in any way. If this were to happen, it would be the worst commercial disaster in the world.

 Both agreed that Beijing has been acting for decades to cultivate proxies at the local level.