Report: Alleged MI6 Spy Detained in China

Facts

• As part of a campaign to clamp down on foreign espionage, China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) says it has arrested a foreign individual caught trying to gather information inside China. Authorities believe he was spying for MI6, Britain's foreign intelligence service.¹
• In a post on its WeChat social media account, the MSS did not reveal the man's identity, referring to him only as Huang. The security agency said he was a citizen of a third country, was in charge of an international consulting firm, and that MI6 established an 'intelligence cooperative relationship' with him in 2015.²
• Huang allegedly received training in Britain from MI6, later using his company's public profile as a cover to collect intelligence during several trips to China. It is claimed he gave 17 pieces of intelligence, including confidential state secrets, to MI6 using British 'specialist spying equipment,' the MSS investigation showed.³
• Foreign consulting firms have faced scrutiny in China for some time, with state security officials last year raiding the international advisory network Capvision's headquarters, prompting the US government and the US Chambers of Commerce to warn that investor confidence in China may be negatively impacted.⁴
• Chinese authorities have also questioned staff members at the local branch of top consulting firm Bain and closed the Beijing headquarters of Mintz Group, a US company specializing in corporate due diligence.⁵
• UK-China relations are under strain due to ongoing conflict over restricted political rights in the former British colony of Hong Kong, as well as continuing suspicion that Chinese tech companies are sharing information with Chinese authorities, because of their close ties with the Chinese Communist Party.⁶

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Sky News, ³CBS, ⁴Daily Mail, ⁵CNN and ⁶FOX News.

Narratives

• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. Chinese security agencies foresee an increase in foreign intelligence operations in the coming years, as China is expected to surpass the US in several sectors including economics, military capacity, science, technology, and finance. MI6 has even admitted that it will be targeting China in the upcoming years. China is dedicated to tracking down and blocking foreign agents who attempt to obtain classified information.
• Anti-China narrative, as provided by BBC News. While all nations engage in espionage, China does so on an unprecedented scale. Beijing needs to stop stealing industry secrets from foreign companies and research universities, and instead focus on its own sovereign innovation. The threat of Chinese espionage is rising, and its potential consequences are becoming more dangerous.

Predictions