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China Is Biggest Long-Term Threat to Britain, Says UK Spy Chief

Jamie Dettmer

   The head of Britain's domestic spy agency outlined Wednesday a cauldron
   of threats the country is facing, including from Islamist militancy to
   rising right-wing extremism, but he emphasized the biggest long-term
   challenge is presented by China.
   Russia currently poses the biggest state-based threat to Britain, but
   China will become more dangerous in the future, Ken McCallum told
   reporters in London in his first public remarks as the new head of MI5.
   He said Russia was delivering "bursts of bad weather," while Beijing is
   "changing the climate."
   The 45-year-old Glasgow-born spy chief said he's planning to expand his
   agency's operations to counter clandestine Chinese activities. He
   warned that Beijing has been seeking to steal the intellectual property
   of British businesses, including pharmaceutical companies, and
   universities.
   "The UK wants to cooperate with China on the big global issues like
   climate change, while at the same time being robust in confronting
   covert hostile activity when we come across it," he said.

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