Key facts
- MI5 warned UK universities about the China Academy of General Technology (CAGT), described as a significant threat.
- CAGT, also known as the China General Technology Research Institute, is accused of paying UK academics for research to improve China's espionage capabilities.
- Over 100 UK academics contributed to projects funded by CAGT, focusing on AI, cybersecurity, and steganography.
- MI5 stated that research institutes in China conducting strategic technology research are subject to Party-state oversight.
- The UK's National Security Act makes it an offense to assist a foreign intelligence agency.
Britain's domestic security service, MI5, has issued an unprecedented public alert warning UK universities about the China Academy of General Technology (CAGT), which it described as a significant threat and a front for China's Ministry of State Security (MSS).
MI5 alleges that CAGT has paid UK academics working in sensitive fields such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity for research that directly improves the MSS's technical capability for espionage. The security service stated that over 100 UK academics linked to the UK had contributed to projects funded by the MSS via the front company, focusing on AI, cybersecurity, and steganography.
The alert is likely to create unease within the UK's higher education sector, which has relied on Chinese funding and collaboration for years. In May, China's education ministry announced 219 new transnational education partnerships, with over a fifth involving British universities, making the UK the top partner country. Chinese students also contribute around £600 million annually to the UK's higher education sector.
However, concerns have grown that these partnerships pose risks to national security. A 2023 Intelligence and Security Committee report highlighted that UK academic institutions are a "rich feeding ground for China to achieve both political influence and economic advantage" and flagged the risk of China "directing or stealing UK academic research in order to build, or short-cut to, Chinese expertise".
Experts like Sam Goodman, senior policy director at the China Strategic Risks Institute, noted the difficulty for UK academics in navigating dual-use technologies. Charles Parton, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, and Meia Nouwens, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, both called for greater clarity from the UK government on which research areas pose national security risks and how to manage collaborations with China.