China’s tech dominance is a creeping threat – the Government must not trade security for better relations

18 March 2025, 08:52

By Graeme Downie

Ed Miliband’s trip to Beijing this week will lead to renewed questions about whether vital UK security concerns are being overlooked in the government’s rush to rebuild relations with China.

The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero met China’s vice-premier Ding Xuexiang in the Great Hall of the People yesterday. The pair announced a new annual UK-China climate dialogue, with the first summit expected to take place in London later this year.

Mr Miliband’s personal commitment to building international dialogue on curbing climate change is welcome.

But it is vital that all UK ministers remain clear-eyed about the creeping threat to our critical national infrastructure posed by China’s growing technological dominance.

The energy sector is particularly vulnerable to this emerging threat. Last month, defence experts sounded the alarm about Chinese manufacturers supplying turbines to a massive wind farm project in the North Sea.

And an assessment by Mr Miliband’s own department has warned China could access the ability to switch off power from wind farms, potentially plunging homes and oil rigs into darkness.

A growing number of my colleagues on the Labour backbenches are uncomfortable about the emerging tech threat from Beijing. It is what spurred me to recently take on the role of chair of the Coalition on Secure Technology, which is campaigning to enshrine protection against this threat onto the statute book.

At the heart of this issue is China’s global lead in the manufacture of Cellular Internet-of-Things Modules (CIMs). These are tiny but powerful communications computers that are increasingly part of the fabric of everyday consumer products ranging from electric cars to air fryers. Containing both semiconductors and sim cards, CIMS are effectively keys to the Internet of Things and AI technology.

They are also increasingly embedded in technology vital to our national security such as wind farms and the electricity grid, as well as defence assets including military vehicles and weapons systems.

National security laws imposed by the ruling Communist Party require all Chinese companies, including Quectel and Fibcom, which control over 60% of the global CIM market, to comply with any demands issued by security chiefs including for the handover of data.

Examples of what Chinese companies could do, if they had a monopoly in CIMs or even a high share of the market, include: a high-voltage attack on smart meters to knock out the electricity grid; bringing ports to a standstill by immobilising cranes; halting lorries to stall military deployments; or paralysing bank payment systems to cause financial chaos.

The risk to the UK is one which extends beyond infrastructure to everyday life.

Recent investigations have revealed that smart devices, including air fryers, smartwatches and TVs, are covertly collecting sensitive personal data and sending it to servers in China.

Data from a mobile phone synchronised with a car infotainment system can be accessed remotely via CIMs. Even private conversations in electric vehicles could potentially be recorded or filmed.

Reports in 2023 revealed that then prime minister Rishi Sunak’s official car was stripped to remove a Chinese CIM. And last week it emerged that similar concerns at the Ministry of Defence led to officials being ordered not to talk when travelling in any of the hundreds of Chinese-made electric vehicles the department has leased.

Such examples confirm that the potential and far-reaching threat to UK security from China’s expanding technological influence is no longer a distant menace; it is a danger already lurking in our homes, vehicles, networks and critical systems.

The UK government urgently needs a comprehensive strategy to meet this challenge.

Options could include adding Chinese CIM manufacturers to the centralised department list under the Procurement Act due to come into force later this month.

The UK-China Relations Audit due this spring should also be used to draw up recommendations for reducing the UK’s dependency on Chinese technology in sensitive sectors.

And the Strategic Defence Review being carried out this year must address the UK’s vulnerabilities in emerging technologies such as CIMs, AI and autonomous systems, areas where China seeks dominance.

With Mr Miliband following Chancellor Rachel Reeves in making an official visit to China, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expected to follow later this year, it is this government needs a far more comprehensive strategy on this vital issue.

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Graeme Downie MP is chair of the Coalition on Secure Technology.

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