The entrance to the British prime minister's official residence, 10 Downing Street, in London Photo: VCG

In response to a question over the UK's National Security Authority warning which claimed that "two LinkedIn headhunter accounts were in fact operated by China's Ministry of State Security," Mao Ning, a spokesperson from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that China has no interest in collecting the so-called "intelligence" from the UK Parliament and urged certain individuals in the UK to stop engaging in such baseless and self-projected nonsense. 

Mao said at a Wednesday press briefing that China has repeatedly made its stern position clear. China never interferes in other countries' internal affairs and has no interest in collecting the so-called "intelligence" of the UK Parliament. 

On Tuesday, a spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy to the UK said the claims by the UK side are pure fabrication and malicious slander, and China strongly condemns such despicable moves by the UK side and have lodged stern representations with them.

The spokesperson's remarks were made after the UK intelligence services reportedly issued a so-called "espionage alert," claiming that Chinese intelligence personnel, disguised as "headhunters,"   approached UK parliamentarians and figures from various sectors in order to "collect information." The Commons Speaker has also written to MPs about this.

We urge the UK side to immediately stop this self-staged charade of false accusations and self-aggrandizement, and stop going further down the wrong path of undermining China-UK relations, said the spokesperson.

The new warning against "espionage attempts by China" comes after British prosecutors abandoned a case in September against two British men charged with spying on members of parliament for China, as the British government had not provided clear evidence to show that Beijing was a threat to its national security, per Reuters.

It also comes just weeks before the government must decide whether to approve a new Chinese embassy in London that some claimed will pose a security risk, per Reuters.

In October, MI5 claimed that Chinese spies were creating fake job adverts to try to lure British professionals into handing over information.

Recent smear campaigns launched by the UK intelligence services against China have effectively made them spoilers in the government's internal debate over China policy, Li Guanjie, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies under Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.

He noted that despite differing views on China within British society, the intelligence services have repeatedly fanned tensions by hyping "competition" and "threats." This pattern of obstructing constructive engagement with China undermines efforts in seeking a stable China-UK relationship, clashes with Britain's genuine economic and livelihood needs, and ultimately does more harm than good.