Right before I start, I will like to mention that this is a focus on China. While almost all powerful nation bug each other, it appears that China is taking this to another level. Usually, this kind of things are limited to areas that may provide political gain, but china is actively gathering intelligence on business and people who may have trade secrets. Some have even argued that the bounds and leaps made by China should not surprise anyone i.e their so called advancement may have been based on intellectual theft. Again there are reasons that support this notion. [If you want one, please ask. I do not want to divert from the point I am trying to make:

Here are some various extracts from the article.

A leaked MI5 document says that undercover intelligence officers from the People’s Liberation Army and the Ministry of Public Security have also approached UK businessmen at trade fairs and exhibitions with the offer of “gifts” and “lavish hospitality”.

The gifts — cameras and memory sticks — have been found to contain electronic Trojan bugs which provide the Chinese with remote access to users’ computers

Again while this may sound as some low-level form of hacking, one need to see the bigger picture to fully appreciate what is going on here. For example Huawei is one the biggest [if not the biggest] electronics, chip and telecoms outfit in China. Only that it have been linked/known for receiving funding from the Chinese Military in conducting several "espionage based research and development". Also, there have been reports of Huwaei's offices in other nations employing people with links to the Chinese army. Below is a link supporting the last statement. Please make of it what you want.

http://www.telecomtiger.com/Corporate_fullstory.aspx?passfrom=topstory&storyid=7067&section=S162


Here is another quote from the leaked report.

MI5 says the Chinese government “represents one of the most significant espionage threats to the UK” because of its use of these methods, as well as widespread electronic hacking.

Again another notion that supports this is the recent attempted hacking of Goggle in china. Goggle describe the attack as "highly sophisticated" a lot of people have attributed the level of attack to the Chinese government. Let's not forget that these attacks are targeted at those who campaigned against the appalling Human rights in china. Coincidence?


Another quote from the report:

It claims China has also gone much further, targeting the computer networks and email accounts of public relations companies and international law firms. “Any UK company might be at risk if it holds information which would benefit the Chinese,” the report says.

China has occasionally attempted sexual entrapment to target senior British political figures. Two years ago an aide to Gordon Brown had his BlackBerry phone stolen after being picked up by a Chinese woman who had approached him in a Shanghai hotel disco.

The report says the practice has now extended to commercial espionage. It says Chinese agents are trying to cultivate “long-term relationships” with the employees of key British companies: “An undercover intelligence officer may try to develop a friendship or business relationship, often using lavish hospitality and flattery.

“Chinese intelligence services have also been known to exploit vulnerabilities such as sexual relationships and illegal activities to pressurise individuals to co-operate with them.”

Chinese hackers have repeatedly targeted western networks

-Computers at the Foreign Office and other Whitehall departments were attacked from China in 2007. In the same year, Jonathan Evans, the MI5 director-general, warned 300 British businesses that they were under Chinese cyber-attack

-The People’s Liberation Army is reputed to hold an annual competition to recruit the country’s best hackers

-Two years ago, Chinese Trojan horse spyware was found in the offices of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor

Please have a read of the article and make you mind of what you will. Personally, I think the approach employed by the Chinese is just too aggressive and it makes me shudder to think what they are capable of doing should they ever become world power.

Here are some suggest reading links:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article7009749.ece

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5993156.ece

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/01/201011344158285428.html

Well,
if that's the case, it's a question of turned tables.
After all, that's what MI5/6, CIA, KGB, Mossad, etc, had been doing for donkey years during the cold war.
There's no way you can be a truly great power without an intelligence network.

No far from it. It is not "turned tables" in my opinion. These sort of intelligence gathering is limited to inside one's nation - with the blessing of the law. China is in my opinion using what is more like "covert aggression" in the same way they practise "aggressive capitalism".

Mossad will gladly kill any enemy of the state in any part of the world.

Mi5 and Mi6 will monitor activities at home and abroad to see if there is any threat to the UK or any of her allies if necessary.

KGB will do dirty works like mossad and gather intelligence like the CIA

etc.

The point is, no one have gone to the extent in which the China is actively pursuing her ways. This can have implications and a very severe one, but let us see how it goes.