The head of Britains GCHQ spy agency warned that the West should not lose sight of the technological challenge from China as it deals with the immediate problem of Russias invasion of Ukraine.
A top British intelligence official will warn in a speech on Tuesday that while Russias aggression has created an urgent threat, Chinas expanding use of technology to control dissent and its growing ability to attack satellite systems, control digital currencies and track individuals pose far deeper challenges for the West.
In an interview on Monday ahead of his address, the official, Jeremy Fleming, who heads GCHQ the British electronic intelligence-gathering and cyber agency made famous for its role in breaking the Enigma codes in World War II also said he was skeptical about how far China would go to support Russias aggression.
I dont this that this is a relationship without limits, he said, using the term that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China employed when they met at the Beijing Olympics early this year, just before the invasion of Ukraine. In light of Russias dismal battlefield performance and its brutality, he said, China needs to be weighing up the advances and disadvantage of continuing to align themselves strongly with Russia.
Mr. Flemings agency formally called Government Communications Headquarters, the counterpart to the National Security Agency in the United States plays an increasingly central role in tracking Russian communications and preparing for the day when Chinas advances in quantum computing may defeat the kinds of encryption used to protect both government and corporate communications.