China's plan for a new world order is like the British Empire – Shapps

China’s plan for a new world order under its control is like the British Empire, says minister Grant Shapps as he says the UK cannot ‘pretend they are not there’ and should accept Beijing’s money when it is safe to do so

China’s plan for a new world order under Beijing’s leadership is similar to the way Britain acted when it had an empire, Cabinet minister Grant Shapps said today.

The Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary said he was ‘clear-eyed’ about the threat posed by the Communist regime and said it should be kept away from the UK’s critical infrastructure.

But addressing a gathering of political journalists in Westminster he said the West could not ‘just pretend they are not there’ and should welcome investment where it was safe to do so.

His remarks came as  a new report by MPs warned that Chinese spies are targeting the UK ‘prolifically and aggressively’.

The long-awaited report by Parliament’s intelligence watchdog raised concerns about Chinese influence in UK universities and the country’s intention to become a ‘permanent and significant player’ in the civil nuclear energy industry.

Asked about the The Intelligence and Security Committee report Mr Shapps pointed out he had brought out the Chinese investment in the Sizewell C nuclear power station project last year at a cost to taxpayers of £700 million.

But he added: ‘I have a really clear-eyed view about China. First of all, they are a reality, we cannot wish things away.

‘And they do want to change the world, to operate under their world order. That is no surprise – we did that when we had an empire, the Americans have done that, the Dutch did it before us. That’s the way large economies and empires operate.

The Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary said he was ‘clear-eyed’ about the threat posed by the Communist regime and said it should be kept away from the UK’s critical infrastructure.

he had brought out the Chinese investment in the Sizewell C nuclear power station project last year at a cost to taxpayers of £700 million.

Chinese spies are targeting the UK ‘prolifically and aggressively’ with Beijing managing to penetrate ‘every sector of the economy’, a watchdog warned today.

‘What we need to do is work out how we are going to … make it work for us.’

He added: ‘I don’t agree with a policy that says ”let’s just pretend they are not there” but I am also very, very clear-minded.

‘There are many times when we should be, and do, welcome Chinese investment. So I think it is about making sure they are not part of our critical national infrastructure, but we do have to accept that this is the world as it is, not just the world as we would like to imagine it, which is not a sensible approach.’

The ISC was is also critical of the UK Government’s response to China, questioning the trade-off between economic interest and security concerns.

The 207-page report, published this morning, said the UK is of ‘significant interest to China when it comes to espionage and interference’, placing the country ‘just below China’s top priority targets’.

It said: ‘China’s state intelligence apparatus – almost certainly the largest in the world with hundreds of thousands of civil intelligence officers…. targets the UK and its interests prolifically and aggressively, and presents a challenge for our Agencies to cover.’

Chaired by Conservative MP Sir Julian Lewis, the nine-member committee scrutinises the work of the UK’s intelligence agencies including MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.

Sir Julian said: ‘China’s state intelligence apparatus – almost certainly the largest in the world, with hundreds of thousands of civil intelligence officers (leaving aside their military capability) – targets the UK and its interests prolifically and aggressively, and presents a challenge for our Agencies to cover. 

‘China’s human intelligence collection is prolific, and it has a highly capable and increasingly sophisticated cyber-espionage operation.’

The report said: ‘Much of the impact which China has on the UK’s national security is overt – through its economic might, its takeovers and mergers, and its interaction with Academia and Industry.

‘China’s size, ambition and capability have enabled it to successfully penetrate every sector of the UK’s economy.’

It warned about China’s ‘whole-of-state’ approach that sees Chinese companies and ordinary Chinese citizens ‘co-opted’ into its spying and interference operations abroad.

The report found Beijing had ‘worked hard on disinformation’ over the Covid pandemic and ‘greatly exaggerated its work to counter the virus and develop vaccines, and has sown seeds of doubt about the origins of the virus, to make the world believe that China was not at fault’.

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