China's investment spree in the UK gave it access to military-grade technology, BBC told
A global leader in high-tech industries
BBC Panorama
China has financed tens of billions of pounds' worth of investment in UK businesses and projects this century, some of which gave it access to military-grade technology, BBC Panorama has learned.
The spending spree - worth £45bn ($59bn) at 2023 prices - was at its height following a 2015 Chinese state directive, aimed at making the country a global leader in high-tech industries.
The UK has been the top destination among G7 nations for these investments, relative to its population and economy, according to the US-based research group AidData.
Panorama has investigated how this led to cutting-edge technology and skills being transferred to China.
The UK was "far too free in allowing access to strategically important industries", according to a former head of GHQ.
The BBC was given exclusive early access to data collected by AidData, a research group at William & Mary, a university in the US state of Virginia.
A leading specialist in tracking how governments spend money overseas, AidData receives funding from governments and charitable foundations worldwide.
Some government-backed Chinese investments were purely commercial, while others aligned with Beijing's strategic objectives, according to Dr Brad Parks, AidData's executive director.
These objectives were laid out by China's communist leaders in a strategic plan 10 years ago, called "Made In China 2025".
It set ambitious targets for the country to become the industry leader in 10 high-tech sectors, including aerospace, electric vehicles and robotics.
This was a far-sighted strategy, according to Prof Keyu Jin of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: "It's the longer-term strategic thinking that China has always had, and I'd argue that many other countries also should have."
Investment-screening laws
With access to AidData's research, the BBC has investigated how the purchase of some UK companies has led to the transfer of technology with military potential to China.
Imagination Technologies, a Hertfordshire-based firm, was one of the companies Panorama looked at.
It specialises in semiconductor design - in other words, designing the tiny electronic circuits inside chips that power devices such as computers and smartphones.
In 2017, Imagination had recently lost its most important client, Apple, and had seen its share price fall dramatically. It was snapped up for £550m by a US-based private equity firm, Canyon Bridge, at the time.
The Canyon Bridge fund that bought Imagination had one investor - Yitai Capital, whose largest stakeholder is China Reform.
This organisation reports to the State Council, the body responsible for carrying out party policies and laws.
Two months before Canyon Bridge bought Imagination in the UK, it had tried to buy a semiconductor company in the US.
However, that purchase had been blocked by the US's investment-screening laws.
The value of Imagination lies in its intellectual property - the expertise of its engineers, amassed over decades.
A potential buyer would be buying into this expertise.
What is more, the algorithms underlying its technology, although developed for other products, could be used in missiles and drones.
In his first interview since leaving Imagination, the company's former CEO, Ron Black, says the UK government vetted the deal and that Canyon Bridge told him "unequivocally" that China Reform would be a passive investor, only interested in making money.
However, in 2019, Mr Black says he was summoned to a meeting in Beijing, where he was asked to work directly for China Reform and oversee the wholesale transfer of Imagination's technology and expertise to China.
"I think [the China Reform representative] said specifically 'from the heads of the British engineers to the Chinese engineers, then lay off the British engineers and you'll make a lot of money'," says Mr Black.
He refused, but he says that several months later, China Reform tried to install four new directors "with no understanding of semiconductors" directly onto Imagination Technologies' board.
"The only attributes they appeared to have was a relationship with China Reform," he adds.
Complying
Convinced that Imagination's technology could be used for military purposes, Mr Black began reaching out to contacts in the UK government.
He says he was given a sympathetic hearing but told this was a private industry matter and that there was not much anyone could do.
Fearful about the possible transfer of military-grade technology, Mr Black resigned.
At that point, he says, the UK government started to take an interest, and China Reform halted its attempt to install new directors.
Mr Black withdrew his resignation but was fired three days later.
An employment tribunal later found that he had been unfairly dismissed.
After he left the company, Imagination's homegrown technology was transferred to China.
According to Imagination, its technology is not used in military products. It told Panorama: "Imagination has always complied with applicable export and trade compliance laws in respect of its commercial licensing of semiconductor IP technology and related transactions."
Canyon Bridge told Panorama, "the Imagination transaction was sourced and led exclusively by Canyon Bridge and its advisers".
Panorama contacted China Reform, but it has not commented on Mr Black's allegations.
The Chinese Embassy says its government "has always required Chinese enterprises operating overseas to strictly comply with local laws and regulations" and that these enterprises "also contribute actively to local economic growth, social development and job creation - efforts that have been widely welcomed by many countries".
China has financed tens of billions of pounds' worth of investment in UK businesses and projects this century, some of which gave it access to military-grade technology, BBC Panorama has learned.
The spending spree - worth £45bn ($59bn) at 2023 prices - was at its height following a 2015 Chinese state directive, aimed at making the country a global leader in high-tech industries.
The UK has been the top destination among G7 nations for these investments, relative to its population and economy, according to the US-based research group AidData.
Panorama has investigated how this led to cutting-edge technology and skills being transferred to China.
The UK was "far too free in allowing access to strategically important industries", according to a former head of GHQ.
The BBC was given exclusive early access to data collected by AidData, a research group at William & Mary, a university in the US state of Virginia.
A leading specialist in tracking how governments spend money overseas, AidData receives funding from governments and charitable foundations worldwide.
Some government-backed Chinese investments were purely commercial, while others aligned with Beijing's strategic objectives, according to Dr Brad Parks, AidData's executive director.
These objectives were laid out by China's communist leaders in a strategic plan 10 years ago, called "Made In China 2025".
It set ambitious targets for the country to become the industry leader in 10 high-tech sectors, including aerospace, electric vehicles and robotics.
This was a far-sighted strategy, according to Prof Keyu Jin of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: "It's the longer-term strategic thinking that China has always had, and I'd argue that many other countries also should have."
Investment-screening laws
With access to AidData's research, the BBC has investigated how the purchase of some UK companies has led to the transfer of technology with military potential to China.
Imagination Technologies, a Hertfordshire-based firm, was one of the companies Panorama looked at.
It specialises in semiconductor design - in other words, designing the tiny electronic circuits inside chips that power devices such as computers and smartphones.
In 2017, Imagination had recently lost its most important client, Apple, and had seen its share price fall dramatically. It was snapped up for £550m by a US-based private equity firm, Canyon Bridge, at the time.
The Canyon Bridge fund that bought Imagination had one investor - Yitai Capital, whose largest stakeholder is China Reform.
This organisation reports to the State Council, the body responsible for carrying out party policies and laws.
Two months before Canyon Bridge bought Imagination in the UK, it had tried to buy a semiconductor company in the US.
However, that purchase had been blocked by the US's investment-screening laws.
The value of Imagination lies in its intellectual property - the expertise of its engineers, amassed over decades.
A potential buyer would be buying into this expertise.
What is more, the algorithms underlying its technology, although developed for other products, could be used in missiles and drones.
In his first interview since leaving Imagination, the company's former CEO, Ron Black, says the UK government vetted the deal and that Canyon Bridge told him "unequivocally" that China Reform would be a passive investor, only interested in making money.
However, in 2019, Mr Black says he was summoned to a meeting in Beijing, where he was asked to work directly for China Reform and oversee the wholesale transfer of Imagination's technology and expertise to China.
"I think [the China Reform representative] said specifically 'from the heads of the British engineers to the Chinese engineers, then lay off the British engineers and you'll make a lot of money'," says Mr Black.
He refused, but he says that several months later, China Reform tried to install four new directors "with no understanding of semiconductors" directly onto Imagination Technologies' board.
"The only attributes they appeared to have was a relationship with China Reform," he adds.
Complying
Convinced that Imagination's technology could be used for military purposes, Mr Black began reaching out to contacts in the UK government.
He says he was given a sympathetic hearing but told this was a private industry matter and that there was not much anyone could do.
Fearful about the possible transfer of military-grade technology, Mr Black resigned.
At that point, he says, the UK government started to take an interest, and China Reform halted its attempt to install new directors.
Mr Black withdrew his resignation but was fired three days later.
An employment tribunal later found that he had been unfairly dismissed.
After he left the company, Imagination's homegrown technology was transferred to China.
According to Imagination, its technology is not used in military products. It told Panorama: "Imagination has always complied with applicable export and trade compliance laws in respect of its commercial licensing of semiconductor IP technology and related transactions."
Canyon Bridge told Panorama, "the Imagination transaction was sourced and led exclusively by Canyon Bridge and its advisers".
Panorama contacted China Reform, but it has not commented on Mr Black's allegations.
The Chinese Embassy says its government "has always required Chinese enterprises operating overseas to strictly comply with local laws and regulations" and that these enterprises "also contribute actively to local economic growth, social development and job creation - efforts that have been widely welcomed by many countries".
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