Forget ‘Chinese spies’, trade not espionage should be Britain’s main concern with China | Simon Jenkins

China is clearly using its trading supremacy to ignore accepted norms – but the UK has some leverage

Today’s claim that a Chinese spy in his 20s cruising the Westminster drinks circuit might pose a threat to the British state is absurd. MPs always overstate their role in foreign affairs. Boris Johnson, back in 2017 when he was foreign secretary, might have felt a macho thrill from sending an aircraft carrier to the South China Sea – where it could be sunk in an hour – but Britain’s defences are n...