UK to remove Chinese-made surveillance equipment from sensitive government sites

Britain has committed to the removal of Chinese-made surveillance equipment from sensitive government sites as part of its latest plans to address national security concerns related to China.

Under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has cast China as the world’s greatest challenge to security and prosperity, the government told its departments last year to stop installing Chinese-linked surveillance cameras at sensitive buildings.

In an announcement setting out a proposed tightening of procurement rules, the government said:

“We will also commit to publish a timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment produced by companies subject to China’s National Intelligence Law from sensitive central government sites.”

“By committing to this timeline, we are providing reassurance and urgency around the removal plans.”

The statement did not name specific companies.

British lawmakers have previously called for a ban on the sale and use of security cameras made by Hikvision and Dahua, two partly state-owned Chinese firms, over privacy fears and concerns of the companies’ products being linked to human rights abuses in China.

“We believe that the possible action by the UK Government is a further step up of the mounting geopolitical tensions being expressed through technology bans, which by no means relates to the security of Hikvision’s products,” Hikvision said in a statement via e-mail.

Beijing has said it “firmly opposes” overstretching the concept of national security to suppress Chinese enterprises.

Britain barred TikTok on government phones in March this year, while in 2020 it said it would ban Huawei from its 5G network. Some US states have banned vendors and products from several Chinese technology companies.