Beijing accuses Canberra of lying about spy threats while claiming to have foiled Australian spies in China

Australia Broadcast Center

21 hours ago

China has accused Australia of lying about a "Chinese espionage threat" and claims Beijing's security services have foiled Australia spies operating in the country.
The statement come less than two weeks after a Chinese national was charged for allegedly spying for Beijing in Canberra.
China's Ministry of State Security issued a lengthy statement on its WeChat messaging channel on Friday.
It said Australia had deliberately exaggerated the threat of Chinese espionage, and accused some leaders of painting the country as "victims".
The ministry referenced a speech made by ASIO chief Mike Burgess earlier this year, in which he said China was a major espionage threat to Australia.
Mr Burgess said his organisation was "seeing more Australians targeted — more aggressively — than ever before" by other countries.
"This fabrication and hype over a so-called 'Chinese espionage threat' reflect that certain forces in Australia are unwilling to see China-Australia relations develop in a healthy and stable manner, and instead seek to stir up trouble out of nothing," the ministry said.
"Such malicious speculation based on self-projection, and unfounded persecution fantasies … expose Australia's 'over-anxiety' about its own security."
The statement also said that China's security agencies had "lawfully uncovered multiple espionage cases orchestrated by Australian intelligence services" — moves which it said had protected its sovereignty and security interests.
It provided no further details about the incidents.
Beijing has long suspected Australia of collecting intelligence on behalf of other countries, including the United States, as part of the Five Eyes agreement with Canada, New Zealand and the UK.
"When Australia's intelligence agencies played up claims that foreign espionage poses a 'serious threat' to Australia — and even baselessly accused China of espionage to portray themselves as innocent 'victims' — they offered nothing but unfounded assumptions and sensational conjecture, without any facts or evidence," it said.
"Whether this performance was a case of doing someone else's bidding, or simply a forced essay on a given theme, it has come across as irrational and unprofessional."
The ministry made a point of noting the "joint efforts" that both countries had undertaken to rebuild the relationship from a "low point".
However it added that some Australian leaders' "China-fear" and "China exclusion" continued "counter to the right direction charted by the two countries' leaders".
"As China and Australia embark on the second decade of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, both sides should continue to deepen strategic mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, foster people-to-people friendship, and jointly address risks and challenges," the statement concluded.
Earlier this month Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested and charged a Chinese national in Canberra with allegedly spying on the the Buddhist association Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door on behalf of Beijing.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing in July — a trip widely seen as a sign of renewed relations between the two countries.
ASIO and the AFP have been contacted for comment.