On Monday (November 18th), a senior U.S. government official warned the UK to ban Chinese companies from involvement in all its critical infrastructure sectors, stressing that potential security vulnerabilities in the infrastructure of both the UK and the U.S. should be of “paramount concern.”
According to The Telegraph’s report on Monday, the Trump administration official emphasized in an interview that the security and defense of both the UK and the U.S. are “closely intertwined,” and the security of their supply chains is crucial, especially when using Chinese equipment and technology poses security risks.
He stated that this is a cross-departmental issue that requires a coordinated response across the entire government.
Using military bases as an example, the U.S. government official illustrated the seriousness of the issue. He pointed out that regardless of how tightly defended military bases are, “whether in the U.S. or the UK, bases rely on electricity, water, and railroad transportation,” all of which are provided by private companies operating as targets.
The official emphasized, “Any part of Beijing’s involvement in the supply chain of critical infrastructure needs to be scrutinized extremely carefully and worked within an atmosphere of zero trust, otherwise it poses a threat to security.”
Currently, companies related to the Beijing regime hold assets that are deemed crucial to UK national security. For example, Chinese companies have made significant investments in UK universities, the steel industry, and Heathrow Airport, with investors from Beijing holding a 10% stake in Heathrow Airport.
Data from the UK’s National Statistics Office shows that in 2023, the total amount of public investments from China in the UK was approximately £4.3 billion. However, the actual amount might be higher.
Sir Jeremy Fleming, the former head of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in the UK, told the BBC that the UK was “too permissive” in allowing (Chinese companies) to access strategically important industries, especially in the fields of science and technology.
The Trump administration official also warned that the CCP is “an aggressive and capable adversary,” especially in digital signal intelligence. In Washington’s view, the “vast majority” of the largest network threats to the West come from Beijing, whose resources and capabilities exceed those of Russia, Iran, or other hostile countries.
He specifically mentioned two network hacker actions supported by the Chinese regime under the codenames “Salt Typhoon” and “Volt Typhoon.” It is believed that in these hacker actions, many regions of critical infrastructure in the U.S. have been penetrated by Chinese hackers for a long time.
Earlier this year, Ciaran Martin, the former head of cybersecurity at the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters, described the “shift” in Beijing’s network capabilities as the most significant change in threats to the West in over a decade.
The UK government’s position towards Beijing has recently faced numerous criticisms. Last week, after the Westminster spy case was withdrawn, MI5 issued a rare warning to lawmakers about the high activity of foreign spies. Critics accused the Labour government of prioritizing trade relations with China over national security.
Reportedly, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the G20 summit this past weekend.
The UK government is expected to approve the Chinese application to build a new “super embassy” in central London within a few weeks. The project has attracted significant attention due to its proximity to crucial communication cables. The White House had previously expressed “deep concerns” about this matter.
The UK government is still contemplating whether to prevent a Chinese acquisition of Thames Water. Opponents fear this could give Beijing the ability to “shut off the taps” at any time.
The U.S. official stated that simple defense is not enough, and a more “proactive” approach is needed to “counter collectively.” He emphasized, “Our security and defense are closely interlinked. Many companies that provide services to your critical infrastructure also provide services to us or American companies.”
It is understood that UK network security officials are closely collaborating with their U.S. counterparts and other members of the Five Eyes alliance to make critical assets more resilient. The Five Eyes alliance members also include Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.