MI5 threatens prosecution over ties to Chinese institute

In a brief statement, MI5 says that a particular Chinese technology research institute has strong ties to a Chinese intelligence agency. The institute, China General Technology Research Institute, is allegedly seeking to acquire technological knowledge in the West to strengthen Chinese espionage efforts.

According to MI5, the research involves areas such as AI, cybersecurity, and steganography. More than a hundred researchers in the United Kingdom are said to have worked on such research projects, and in some cases they may not even know that their research is being funded by the Chinese institute.

MI5 acknowledges that the collaboration may be well-intentioned, but says it must come to an end. Otherwise, those involved could face prosecution. Scientists should now be aware that they may be assisting a foreign intelligence service if they collaborate with the institute—and that such assistance is a criminal offense.

The BBC describes the warning as highly unusual. A representative of the Chinese Embassy in London rejected the allegations and called the threat “imaginary.”

The Netherlands

It is not easy to determine whether the institute also funds research in the Netherlands. Funding may be provided through certain companies or institutions that do not immediately show up in a search.

More generally, scientific cooperation with China is also under increased scrutiny in the Netherlands, particularly since a 2020 warning from the Clingendael Institute about Chinese influence. A series of 2021 articles by the Delft university magazine Delta (“How TU Delft unintentionally helps the Chinese military”) also had a major impact.

In the interest of knowledge security, the government has been working for years on a plan to screen foreign students and scientists coming to the Netherlands to study sensitive fields, but developing the system has proven difficult. In June, the government postponed the screening process again. This spring, the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD warned about Chinese attempts to steal knowledge in the Netherlands.

In 2024, Cursor investigated the ties between China and TU/e. It found that at least 162 students and staff members at TU/e had ties to universities in China that were considered to pose a high or very high risk of espionage.

Since then, TU/e has established policies on knowledge security. As a result, collaborations with institutions in China that have ties to the military or are sanctioned by the European Union have been terminated.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.