Britain is paying the price for not taking the China threat seriously

Editorial: As ever, there is a balance. It seems we have erred on the side of complacency – if not carelessness

The UK alone cannot fight cold wars simultaneously with Russia and China (PA)

Though the latest report from parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC) on China sounds dry, it reads more like a fast-paced and terrifying thriller than the usual official report.

One particularly racy passage, for example, warns that “we are on a trajectory for the nightmare scenario where China steals blueprints, sets standards, and builds products, exerting political and economic influence at every step. This presents a serious commercial challenge, but also has the potential to pose an existential threat to liberal democratic systems.”

Against a well-organised, comprehensive, and long-term Chinese strategy of gaining technology, influence and a kind of hold on Britain, successive governments have done little to resist – and indeed don’t seem to have been much more than useful idiots in the face of a determined and serious Chinese onslaught.