The intelligence leaders from the Five Eyes countries—United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Britain—issued a stark warning to China this week over what it sees as a widespread, multi-pronged operation to steal intellectual property. The nations' collective statement marks the first time China has been called out publicly for its alleged transgressions, which the country vehemently denies. The move by the Five Eyes leaders ratchets up the tension between China and the other world superpowers in their race to constrain Beijing's development of advanced technologies, both for military and surveillance purposes.
The statement accuses China of a coordinated campaign of IP theft involving hacking and spying, according to Reuters. The countries made the statement after meeting with leading companies in Silicon Valley, but the companies remained unnamed in the report. In the statement, FBI director Christopher Wray stated the countries had to come out publicly to deter what he called an "unprecedented" campaign by China to steal other countries' most closely-held technological secrets.
Wray stated, "China has long targeted businesses with a web of techniques all at once: cyber intrusions, human intelligence operations, seemingly innocuous corporate investments and transactions," he said. "Every strand of that web had become more brazen, and more dangerous." Mr. Wray's comments were echoed by his Australian counterpart, who stated, "The Chinese government is engaged in the most sustained scaled and sophisticated theft of intellectual property and expertise in human history."
A month ago, Reuters reported on a Chinese academic studying in Australia who had his living quarters raided and his laptop taken by security forces after visiting three universities there. The man was a foreign affairs researcher who was returned to China, but it caused a security rift for academics sharing research between the two countries and could be a part of the campaign described by the Five Eyes statement.
China denies the allegations for its part, saying it's part of a disinformation campaign being spread by the West. "We firmly oppose the groundless allegations and smears towards China and hope the relevant parties can view China’s development objectively and fairly." a spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington told Reuters in a statement.
