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China's investment spree in UK gave it access to military-grade technology: Report
BBC Panorama exposed a £45bn Chinese investment surge in UK tech during the 2010s, transferring semiconductor knowledge with limited vetting by the then Tory government.
- Recently, BBC Panorama found a $59b Chinese investment surge into the UK during the 2010s, according to AidData, prompting a formal investigation.
- Strategic directives from Beijing show that 'Made In China 2025' set multi-decade goals for 10 high-tech sectors, supported by long-term state financing, AidData reports.
- Canyon Bridge bought Imagination Technologies for 550m with Yitai Capital linked to China Reform; former CEO Ron Black warned ministers, resigned over transfer fears, then was unfairly dismissed.
- By 2022 the UK had tightened screening after the US, Germany and Italy acted by 2018; the UK Foreign Office withheld its full China audit, while the firm and Chinese Embassy deny wrongdoing and former GCHQ chief Sir Jeremy Fleming warns the UK was too permissive.
- AidData found the UK a top G7 destination by relative measure, while specialists note algorithms and semiconductor expertise can be repurposed for missiles and drones, raising security concerns.
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3 Articles
3 Articles
Chinese investment may have handed over UK drone and missile tech
Over the past decade, rampant Chinese investments in the UK may have effectively handed over military grade technology to China. Yet when one tech boss raised the alarm to the British government, he was told that nothing could be done. The 2010s was a surge of Chinese investment in the UK. The £45bn Chinese spending spree included the purchase of a firm that developed technology with potential uses for drones and missiles. An investigation by BB…
·United Kingdom
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According to the BBC, China would have financed tens of billions of pounds in British companies by being able to access military-grade technologies.
·Italy
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources3
Leaning Left1Leaning Right1Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution34% Left, 33% Center, 33% Right
Bias Distribution
- 34% of the sources lean Left, 33% of the sources are Center, 33% of the sources lean Right
34% Left
L 34%
C 33%
R 33%
Factuality
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