Chief Intelligence Officer of UK warns China not to be too close to Russia

Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Chinese regime may be "too closely aligned" with the Soviet regime, the head of the UK intelligence agency said on Thursday.

Sir Jeremy Fleming, the head of Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency, has said close ties with the regime that ignores all international rules will not benefit China. Sir Jeremy addressed a rare public meeting in Australia as a result of his recent visit.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week, in what has been described as a "frank and candid" encounter, directly confronted President Xi Jinping over Beijing's stance on the conflict in Ukraine.

During his address at the Australian National University in Canberra, Fleming pointed out that Russia has "made a strategic choice to align itself with China because China is a more powerful country that is directly opposed to the United States."

“In the current crisis, Russia sees China as a supplier of weapons, as a provider of technology, a market for its hydrocarbons, and as a means to circumvent sanctions,” he said.

31 March 2022