MI5 warns UK universities to cut ties with Chinese research institute

Britain’s domestic intelligence agency has warned universities to cut ties with a Chinese research institute that it says has funded work by more than 100 UK-linked academics to strengthen Beijing’s espionage capabilities.

In a rare public alert, MI5 said the China General Technology Research Institute, or CGTRI, has “very strong ties” to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). The institute is sometimes translated as the China Academy of General Technology, or CAGT.

“MI5 has identified that the primary purpose of CGTRI is to fund academic research that directly improves MSS technical capability for espionage,” the agency said. It said more than 100 academics linked to UK institutions had contributed to projects funded by the MSS through CGTRI, sometimes without knowing the organisation’s alleged role.

The projects covered artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, covert communications systems and steganography, a method of concealing information inside an ordinary message or object. “This activity supports Ministry of State Security espionage, which poses a threat to UK national security,” MI5 said.

The agency said many academics and institutions had likely worked with CGTRI “in good faith” because its alleged link to Chinese state security had been obscured. It urged universities and research institutions to immediately review ongoing or planned collaborations so the MSS would derive no further benefit from their work.

The warning also raised the prospect of criminal charges for those who continue to work with the institute. MI5 pointed to the National Security Act, passed in 2023, which created an offence of assisting a foreign intelligence service when a person ought reasonably to have known that was what they were doing.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis said he had written to university leaders across Britain to ensure staff ended relationships with CGTRI. “This alert exposes attempts by Chinese intelligence to covertly benefit from the expertise and research of our academics, undermining our national security, and that of our allies,” he said.

“International partnerships are vital to ensure our universities and research institutes continue to thrive, but we will take robust action to defend against the threats we face,” Jarvis added, according to Al Jazeera.

There was no immediate response from Beijing to the new allegations, Al Jazeera reported. China has previously denied accusations of espionage. Its embassy in London called a separate warning about Chinese spies’ use of online job platforms “entirely fabricated and constitutes malicious slander.”

That warning, issued in June by security agencies from Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, concerned attempts to recruit people with access to sensitive information through professional networking and job sites. Al Jazeera also reported that MI5 had warned UK lawmakers last November that Chinese agents were posing as headhunters or companies to gather information and influence their activity.