The West Urgently Needs To ‘Re-Set’ Dealings with China
Speakers at Cityforum’s Defence, Security and Resilience webinar programme, led by Hon. Chris Inglis, National Cyber Director at The White House, have urged the private and public sector to be much more cautious in dealings with China. The event, which took place at the end of January and was sponsored by BAE, examined urgent security issues for the UK, the US and their allies.
Other speakers at the event included:
- Mr Stephen Kinnock MP – Shadow Minister Defence
- Dr Paul Killworth, Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security at OCSA
- Ms Isabel Hilton – CEO – The China Dialogue Trust
- Ms Joyce Corell – Acting Deputy National Cyber Director – The White House
- Hon Franklin D Kramer – Distinguished Fellow, Scowcroft Centre for Strategy & Security – Atlantic Council
- Congressman Janes Langevin – Commissioner Rhode Island – Cyberspace Solarium Commission
- Mr George Barnes – Deputy Director – National Security Agency (NSA)
- Lieutenant Richard Nugee – Climate Change and Strategy Lead – MOD
- Ms Madeleine Moon – Former MP & Member, Defence Select Committee, House of Commons
- Ms Miriam Howe – Senior Security Consultant – BAE Systems
Key themes from the event included the need to be clear about what the UK, the US and their allies want from technology, to work closer together to achieve it, to maintain standards and to be awake to the influence China (and other countries who don’t share our values) could have.
In an opening address Miriam Howe (BAE) advised that there had been a shift in attitudes to security; “It’s no longer about blaming the users for bad practices, it’s about recognising that the humans and systems are mutually dependent and you might target the user to get to the system or you might target the system to get to the user.”
Stephen Kinnock MP was critical of the lack of caution in the handling of relations with China in the Cameron/Osborne period of government, although other speakers highlighted that the same had happened during the Labour administration. It was agreed that it was time for a re-set. President Xi Jinping, who came to power in China in 2013, has a very different attitude to the West than his predecessors. The Chinese strategy is to ‘divide and conquer’. Steven Kinnock MP does not believe this has been taken into account by the current UK Government.
George Barnes (NSA) advised that the Chinese are watching how the west handles Ukraine. The ultimate outcome for Russia will inform the Chinese whether the west is strong or weak. If they perceive us as weak this could galvanise the Chinese into taking action on Taiwan.
Dr Killworth, Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security at OCSA, agreed that the allies needed to safeguard themselves, while remaining open to exchange and trade. He explained how the culture of the designers of technology would influence all our lives and why it was important to maintain our lead in technology. “It matters if a technology is designed in Shanghai, the US or Manchester. Smart city technology, designed under an autocratic state, for example, will rarely protect individual privacy rights by default.”
Ms Hilton, CEO The China Dialogue Trust has lived in China. She recognised Chinese ambitions but also pointed to their vulnerabilities and how those are managed politically. With 600million still living in poverty, an ageing population and weaknesses in the Chinese economic model, the Chinese leadership are deflecting blame to ‘foreigners’ which could result in hostile action.
The weak link in security was often in lack of transparency in the supply chain in privately owned companies and an overreliance on China for investment. The Chinese already own 10% of Heathrow and 9% of Thames Water and they are deliberately putting money into cash-poor universities. Ms Hilton pointed out that it could lead to unwelcome influence, including screening out critics of China from employment and claims on sensitive intellectual property.
Mr Inglis and Hon Franklin D Kramer from Scowcroft Centre for Strategy & Security, Atlantic Council both highlighted the need to better understand our allies, our adversaries and those whose loyalties are less defined. Ms Hilton agreed and advised that we should not force countries, particularly those in the Indo-Pacific region, to make a binary choice between the West and China.
Mr Inglis warned against seeding the initiative on technology to those hostile to our values: “The threats from cyberspace, including from malign actors associated with China are really urgent and, in some cases, severe. As our friends in the UK have shown with the National Cyber Security Center and their recently released cyber strategy, this will take unprecedented private, public collaboration.”
Chris Inglis will be returning for the concluding session of the Defence, Security and Resilience 2022 Series, which is due to take place on 27th April; Mr Inglis explained his involvement; “Cityforum has done an extraordinary service in providing both the venue and the master class.”
