In a speech at Chatham House, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden confirmed that British ministers are considering implementing barriers to British investment in international tech firms.
The move is intended to prevent British investments funding technological threats to national security, with the financing of emerging technologies facing increased scrutiny.
In the announcement, the government also expressed intent to launch a dedicated analytical team to improve the country’s understanding of potential risks of international investment in ‘sensitive sectors’.
Oliver Dowden, deputy prime minister, said that “while the financial crash exposed the economic risks of globalisation, today’s rising geopolitical competition is demonstrating the security risks behind such integration.
“We must be clear eyed that one of the great strengths of our system is its openness, but that also brings vulnerabilities.
“Covid-19 and Russia’s war on Ukraine both laid bare the interconnectedness of global supply chains and the extent to which they can be exploited, such as Russia driving up the price of gas, and Chinese acts of economic coercion.”
Eight months ago, regulatory blocks were introduced in the USA to prevent certain US investments in three Chinese sectors: semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
The announcement comes during a delicate period for UK-Chinese relations, with the government pursuing a more aggressive stance towards Chinese technology due to growing international fears that technology from consumer-facing organisations, such as Huawei, will be used for espionage.
UK-Chinese relations were also damaged by last month’s revelations that Chinese hackers were responsible for cyberattacks on UK politicians and the Electoral Commission.
Due to the openness of universities to international investment, the deputy PM highlighted that these organisations needed to be especially cautious.
Dowden explained that Britain’s universities formed “a jewel in our crown,” and that the funding of research by international powers could risk the advancement of technologies with the potential for weaponisation, and that this “has the potential to become a chink in our armour.”
This follows a report from the Financial Times last month that researchers from Imperial College London were linked to Chinese scientists with ties to the country’s military.
