The British government's open door stance to electric cars from Communist China risks undermining domestic manufacturing and exposing the UK to national security risks, with a think tank warning that electric vehicles could be “weaponised” by Beijing.
a Report Analysts at the China Strategic Risk Institute (CSRI) warned that Britain's growing market share and reliance on Chinese-made electric vehicles poses “economic and security risks” to the country.
The report said the car industry provides 198,000 manufacturing jobs in the UK, equivalent to 2.5% of the country's total GDP.
But Westminster's failure to impose import limits would threaten the future of British car manufacturing, given that Communist China is subsidizing its burgeoning EV sector, churning out between five and 10 million cheap cars a year.
This process is already starting to have a major impact, with CSRI claiming that the UK market share of Chinese-made EVs will increase from just 2% in 2019 to 33.4% in the first half of 2023.
The think tank warned that Britain's refusal to impose tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars, in contrast to its European Union neighbour, could make the UK a “waste dumping ground and a potential back door to the European market” for Beijing. This could become a point of friction between Britain and its European and US allies, threatening trade with its closest partners, CSRI said.
But the threat posed by a flood of Chinese-made cars into the UK is not just limited to the economic sphere, with the CSRI warning that parts for foreign-made EVs could be “weaponised” by communist countries.
According to the CSRI, Chinese-made Cellular Internet of Things Modules (CIMs) used in EVs could be used to transmit data about UK users back to Beijing. The report noted that the totalitarian regime requires all companies in the country to provide data access to the state, which was one of the motivations for the UK's previous decision to phase out Huawei parts from its 5G network by 2027.
But perhaps more worryingly, the think tank has warned that modules on Chinese-made EVs could allow hostile powers to remotely shut down or even take control of EVs in the UK, posing a direct threat to national security.
CSRI proposed that the UK should require overseas suppliers of EVs to agree not to send data overseas under any circumstances, introduce a legal requirement for source code to be shared with the UK government, and allow regular inspections of data storage centres around the world to make sure sensitive data is not being covertly sent to other servers.
The think tank further said that to protect domestic automakers, the UK government should launch an investigation into opposition to state subsidies for China's EV market, and also consider providing subsidies to UK manufacturers and direct subsidies to consumers to promote the domestic industry.
Sam Goodman, Senior Policy Director at CSRI said Per Telegraph“Neither the government nor the public appear to realise the dependency, disruption and data security risks that CIM in Chinese-made EVs poses to the UK.
“We have heard very little so far from the new administration about the risks posed by Chinese-made EVs and we urge them to address this issue – otherwise the UK risks straining relations with its closest ally, deepening its reliance on China for its EV supply chain and the green transition, and exposing itself to threats and blackmail from Beijing.”
