China has accused MI6 of recruiting a top boss from a foreign consultancy firm who used specialist spy equipment to collect state secrets and information for Britain.
China's case highlights the ongoing heated debates the countries have had over allegations of alleged espionage that threaten their respective national security.
China's Ministry of State Security revealed on its WeChat social media account on Monday that a foreigner, identified only by the surname Huang, was in charge of an overseas consultancy firm, and in 2015 MI6 established an “intelligence cooperation relationship” with the person created.
Afterwards, M16 ordered Huang to enter China several times, telling him to use his public identity as a cover to gather China-related intelligence for British espionage and “find other personnel they could engage,” according to the declaration.
According to the MSS, Huang is said to have passed seventeen pieces of intelligence, including confidential state secrets, to MI6 before he was identified.
MI6 also provided professional intelligence training for Huang in Britain and other places, and provided special spy equipment for intelligence interconnection, the Chinese government said.
China said its security services have encountered another espionage incident in which British intelligence agency MI6 (file image of the MI6 building) used a foreigner in China to collect secrets and information
“After careful investigation, state security organs immediately discovered evidence of Huang's involvement in espionage activities and took criminal coercive measures against him,” the government said.
The statement provided no further details about Huang's identity or employer, nor described their current condition or whereabouts.
The consultancy firm has not been disclosed by the Chinese government.
Meanwhile, the British government has said Chinese spies are targeting its officials in sensitive positions in politics, defense and business as part of an increasingly sophisticated espionage operation to gain access to secrets.
A British Parliament investigator was arrested last year under the Official Secrets Act and subsequently denied spying for Beijing.
China repeatedly condemned the claims, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying they were “completely baseless.”
“We urge Britain to stop spreading disinformation and put an end to political manipulation and malicious slander against China,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said when questioned at a news conference .
China is cracking down on perceived threats to its national security and has exposed several cases of espionage it has picked up in recent years.
In May, authorities sentenced 78-year-old U.S. citizen John Shing-wan Leung to life in prison for espionage, although Beijing has not provided substantial details about his case.
China is cracking down on perceived threats to its national security and has exposed several cases of espionage the country has picked up in recent years. Pictured: President Xi Jinping
And in October, the MSS published the story of another alleged spy, surnamed Hou, who was accused of sending several classified and classified documents to the US.
China also raided a series of major consulting, research and due diligence firms last year.
Last May, China said it had raided the offices of US consultancy Capvision to safeguard its “national security and development interests”.
Beijing also questioned employees at the Shanghai branch of another American consulting firm, Bain, in April.
And authorities in March detained employees and closed a Beijing office of U.S. due diligence firm Mintz Group.
The US government and its chambers of commerce warned that the raids are damaging investor confidence and foreign companies' operations in China.
The government has also warned its citizens at home and abroad about the dangers of becoming involved in espionage activities. It has encouraged people to participate in counterintelligence work, including creating channels to report suspicious activity.
China has also unleashed a sweeping crackdown on foreign consulting and due diligence firms over the threat of revealing state secrets, which has unnerved foreign companies operating in the country.