U.S. And British Law Enforcement Agencies Issue Unprecedented Warning About Chinese Espionage Efforts

On July 6, 2022, the heads of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the British MI5 law enforcement agencies issued an unprecedented joint statement warning about espionage and other economic threats from China. Addressing an audience that included chief executives of businesses and senior officials from universities, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that the that economic and national security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party are "immense" and "breathtaking" while MI5 head Ken McCallum called them "game-changing." Director Wray indicated that the Chinese government "poses an even more serious threat to Western businesses than even many sophisticated businesspeople realize," and that China had interfered in politics, including recent elections. This statement was validated by the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center in a separate statement that indicated that China has accelerated efforts to influence U.S. policy making