CHINA is using simple tactics to steal state secrets from British officials and even citizens using fake emails, LinkedIn accounts and gifts, experts warn.
now amount to a “critical threat” to both the UK and US, intelligence expert Anthony Glees said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (centre) has repeatedly denied accusations of espionage Credit: AP
China is preparing to become the world’s ‘sole superpower’, experts say Credit: EPA
Glees told The Sun: “Brits are every bit as much at risk as our key American allies – subjected to espionage running at extremely high levels.”
Earlier this month to be convicted of spying for China after being found guilty of a “shadow policing operation”.
And in March on suspicion of spying for Beijing.
While China is known for its bold approach to espionage, it is finding new ways to gain access to intelligence.
Last year MI5 issued an alert warning ordinary people to watch out for online contact with Chinese spies.
The security service revealed two LinkedIn accounts used by spies to try and “recruit” people with access to secret information.
Going by the names Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen, both profiles featured head shots of women.
Qiu’s account claimed she was a recruiter for “visionary companies with world-class talent” while Shen described herself as a “global head-hunter”.
Suspected Chinese spy Shirly Shen described herself as a global headhunter Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
MI5 released the profile in a warning to Parliament about Chinese spying activities Credit: PA
But Security Minister Dan Jarvis slammed the guise as a “calculated” spying plot by the Chinese government.
Glees said: “LinkedIn offers huge opportunities for Chinese espionage.
“In order to get noticed and gain promotions people use the platform to relentlessly display expertise.”
When an agent comes across someone that interests them, they “work out an approach”.
Spies pose as recruiters or researchers to build long-term relationships and extract sensitive information.
In this case, it’s likely these women were used as “honeypots” – when spies who lure in targets with seduction or sex to gain confidential information.
MI5 estimates that over 20,000 UK nationals have been approached by Chinese spies online.
Glees said: “China under Xi believes it dominates the globe and that is now within striking distance of becoming the sole superpower of the future.
“In order to prepare itself for that role, it needs to know everything it can about any nation it believes will stand in its way.”
And it’s feared Xi’s minions could also be infiltrating Britain’s universities.
Chinese spies “befriend” students studying degrees such as engineering or IT particularly at London’s top universities, Glees said.
The budding academics are offered glitzy trips to China – before they are convinced to spill UK secrets, Glees said.
Glees said that more recently, China has been trying to draw unsuspecting Brits to the country by offering to fund their research.
It is feared Chinese spies could be infiltrating Britain’s universities Credit: Alamy
Budding academics are offered glitzy trips to China before they’re convinced to spill UK secrets Credit: Getty
“What happens is that your success as a researcher begins to depend on Chinese money and cooperation with China,” he explained.
“They are quite sophisticated.
“But underlying all of this is the brutality of a one-party dictatorship that is determined to uphold the power of Xi and the power and influence of China for the rest of this century.”
China has even been accused in the past of trying to spy on a civil servant by hiding a listening device in a tea pot.
A UK Beijing embassy worker only found the bug when the pot smashed — exposing the -style trick.
An insider said: “They were given a tea set as a parting gift by their hosts.
“They thought this was very lovely and took the tea set home with them to Britain.
“Whenever they were having a Chinese meal they would get this tea set out and use it. One day, they were doing the washing up and accidentally knocked the teapot over and it smashed on the floor.
“They bent over to pick up the pieces and discovered a recording device in it.”
The bug was not thought to have picked up any secret or sensitive information.
But the 2023 incident showed
UK intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned of China’s appetite for data collection on a massive scale.
President Donald Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on his recent visit. Credit: Reuters
White House staff reportedly dumped all items issued by Chinese officials before their return Credit: AP
Last year, GCHQ said Beijing may have harvested personal data of every British citizen in a hacking campaign since 2021.
This includes classified information that could be used to take down the National Grid and spy on people at their workplaces.
GCHQ claimed Beijing was behind the that infiltrated UK telecoms systems and critical infrastructure.
Xi’s powerful spy agency of skilled hackers are understood to have infiltrated the mobile phones of senior officials in Downing Street for years.
Information from Brit citizens could be used to train artificial intelligence or even influence opinion in the country.
The former head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, Ciaran Martin, told the BBC: “China has been trying to collect population level data on British people.”
Martin said data could also be used “to work out what our vulnerabilities are individually and collectively”.
Earlier this month Donald Trump with Xi Jinping.
Chinese operations on US soil did not appear to be addressed – despite reports White House staff dumped all items from Chinese officials before their return.
The high-stakes visit came just one week after Eileen Want, Mayor of southern Californian city Arcadia, agreed to plead guilty to acting as Chinese agent.
And just two days earlier a New York man was found guilty of acting as a Chinese spy accused of operating a “secret police station”.
Glees estimates there are thousands of Chinese spies working in America who “will do all they can”.
Song Wu is wanted for wire fraud and aggravated identity theftCredit: Refer to Source
Wu created a fake Gmail account to infiltrate NASA Credit: Getty
“The ‘lucky few’ from the Chinese point of view will have access to the US secret state”, Glees said.
In September 2024 the FBI issued an arrest warrant for Song Wu, a Chinese citizen who created a fake Gmail account to infiltrate NASA, US Air Force, Navy, Army and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Wu began messaging employees masquerading as friends and colleagues after carrying out extensive research into his targets.
But behind his disguise, Wu was an engineer at a Chinese state-owned aerospace and defence corporation that manufactures military aircraft, the FBI said.
He was allegedly trying to steal US software for weapons development, including advanced tactical missiles.
And it worked in some cases, with victims unwittingly violating export control laws by sharing sensitive information over a four-year period.
Song is wanted on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Washington DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies warned last week that Beijing has “aggressively ramped up its offensive irregular warfare activities against the United States”.
Repeated cases of Chinese operations on UK and American soil have revealed the lengths agents will go to for information.
They are not alone too. In November, Australia’s spy chief said hackers linked to the Chinese government and military are targeting critical infrastructure.
He warned of “unprecedented levels of espionage”.
Glees warned: “The purpose of the espionage is to fuel China’s dream of running the world according to Chinese rules. In so many ways the UK government is putting our national security at risk.
“Whether it is in allowing Xi to build his super-spy Embassy in Royal Mint Court in London or allowing high UK officials to chat off the record in the Grandview Think Tank in Beijing.
“This is recklessness without parallel.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We’ll hold anyone accountable for actions putting Britain’s safety and security at risk.
“We’re backing our police and security services and have brought forward some of the most robust measures to defend our country and crack down on state-backed threats both online and on our streets.
“Recent investigations have highlighted the powers available to protect us from hostile activity by foreign states, including China.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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