How serious is the security threat presented by China?

In another sign of cooling Sino-British relations, the deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, has signalled that the government will examine new measures to protect sensitive technology developed in British universities from being transferred to overseas competitors, with particular reference to China.

- SEAN O'GRADY

Ministers will also consider measures to prevent British institutions from becoming too dependent on foreign investment, in light of a Whitehall review of security threats to British academia.

In a slightly unfortunately phrased warning, Dowden said that “cutting-edge development in sensitive technologies” in Britain’s universities had “the potential to become a chink in our armoury [sic]”. The fear is that the West is “in cyber and economic contestation with an increasing range of state and non-state actors”.

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has also warned about British businesses and consumers becoming overly dependent on Chinese imports. It feels like a long time since David Cameron, the then prime minister, declared a “golden age” in relations between Britain and China...

What’s the problem?

The new problem is suspicion about Chinese intelligence operations. There have been suggestions, albeit without much evidence, that the Chinese may have been behind the recent “honeytrap” blackmail attempt perpetrated against Tory MP William Wragg (and against some other parliamentarians and Westminster journalists, some still unnamed, who have also been targeted).

In addition, as Dowden explains, there is the wider risk that Chinese technologies and systems could be used to gather data about UK companies, public organisations, households and individuals.