China hoping to ‘control critical parts of UK economy’ with business empire

China is buying up business infrastructure with a long-term goal of controlling Britain’s logistics, Express.co.uk has been told. It comes after MPs warned that universities in the UK are becoming over-reliant on Chinese student fees, a less-than-ideal situation in what is a tense geopolitical environment with Beijing. For years, China has been increasing its influence in Britain by either buying up private sector businesses outright or owning stakes in both public and private companies, a pursuit intensified by President Xi Jinping . Last month, it emerged that the UK taxpayer could be forced to bail out China and other international investors after Thames Water announced it was in dire financial straits. The state-owned China Investment Corporation (CIC), Beijing’s sovereign wealth fund, owns a 8.68 percent stake in Thames Water , the utility company having paid out £8.7million to the CIC in dividends in the past five years. Chinese President Xi Jinping has engaged in a fierce policy of global dominance in recent years (Image: GETTY) Now, Alicia Kearns MP , Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has warned that the UK risks walking into becoming over-reliant not only in higher education but critical infrastructure. This, she said, poses a grave danger to the country’s logistical operations, telling Express.co.uk: “There is no question that we have been asleep when it comes to Chinese Communist Party infiltration of our critical national infrastructure and malign investment that is put in place to control elements of our economy that will be critical to us.” China currently either owns or has stakes in myriad businesses based in the UK , some of which are vital to UK logistics. Logicor, for example, is a vital cog in the UK economy and is everywhere in the country. Amazon leases Logicor buildings near Bristol, the Surrey town of Weybridge and Bardon in Leicestershire, and the distribution giant also has premises in major cities like Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. The CIC owns a whopping 60 percent stake in it, and other Chinese investors own a further 30 percent. Logicor has paid out £222million in dividends to Beijing in recent years. Thames Water is one of a number of UK companies paying considerable dividends to China (Image: GETTY) Ms Kearns said that while the UK wants Chinese investment and partnership, “we do not want to directly fund a country whose ambitions and intentions are directly hostile to our own and a country that has perpetrated transnational oppression on the streets of Britain, whether it be the Manchester attack or beyond”. She added: “It is infiltrating every aspect of our society we’re very clear on is that the Chinese Communist Party itself should not be investing in these things.” The biggest concern for many comes from the controversial National Security Law that Chinese companies may be required by Beijing to sign up to. Those companies, who may operate in the UK, could be forced to share sensitive data with the Chinese government if it requests access, under the pretence of national security. It adds another element to fears: that personal data could be up for grabs. “It is a conversation that we really have failed to have as a country,” said Ms Kearns. “The average Briton does not think about the information they share about themselves on the internet on a daily basis. “The reality is any of these companies have a duty under Chinese law, which they will respect over ours, to send back any piece of information they receive and data as requested by the Chinese Communist Party.” Even high-security risk operations like Heathrow Airport have Chinese-state funds invested in them (Image: GETTY) Charles Parton, from the Council on Geostrategy, said China’s main goal in investing in Britain was “mainly in order to get hold of technology”. He said the investments were highly coordinated and targeted with a view to the future because, “the CCP rightly believes that if you dominate the new and emerging technologies you will dominate the global economy which will give you the wealth as a superpower.” While some of the things China has invested in pose a high-security threat, like a 10 percent stake in Heathrow Airport, others appear less threatening. They include the British pub chain Greene King, owned by Chinese billionaire Li Ka Shing, and mobile network provider Three UK, also owned by Li. The Chinese business mogul similarly owns Superdrug, Savers Health & Beauty, and The Perfume Shop, among other things. A recent report published by Parliament’s intelligence and security committee said China’s state intelligence apparatus was ‘targeting’ Britain and its interests ‘prolifically and aggressively’, in the process of seeking to control key industrial and civil nuclear energy assets. The report said: ‘China’s size, ambition and capability have enabled it to successfully penetrate every sector of the UK’s economy. “The UK is now playing catch-up and the whole of Government has its work cut out to understand and counter the threat from China. “It is clear that China has taken advantage of the policy of successive British governments to boost economic ties between the UK and China, which has enabled it to advance its commercial, science and technology and industrial goals in order to gain a strategic advantage. “China has been buying up and seeking to control or influence the UK’s industry and energy sectors and – until the Covid-19 pandemic – Chinese money was readily accepted by Government with few questions asked. ‘The Government needs to ensure that it has its house in order such that security concerns are not constantly trumped by economic interests.’