Rishi Sunak has said
China presents an “epoch-defining challenge” after
Beijing was accused of cyberattacks in the UK. The prime minister reiterated the government’s position on China while visiting an engineering firm in Barrow where he unveiled a £200m package of investment to secure the future of the UK’s nuclear industry and boost jobs. “We’ve been very clear that the situation now is that China is behaving in an increasingly assertive way abroad, authoritarian at home and it represents an epoch-defining challenge, and also the greatest state-based threat to our economic security,” he said. “So, it’s right that we take measures to protect ourselves, which is what we are doing.” Oliver Dowden is expected to announce
sanctions on individuals linked to China after Beijing was accused of carrying out “malign” cyberattacks on
UK democracy. The deputy prime minister will tell parliament that China is behind a wave of cyberattacks on the Electoral Commission as well as against 43 MPs and peers , in a major
Hack that is reported to have begun in August 2021 but was not identified until October 2022.