China intelligence agency detains individual accused of espionage for MI6

China intelligence agency has detained an individual accused of gathering state secrets for Britains Foreign Intelligence agency MI6According to the Ministry of State Securitys social media post on Monday the person in question identified as Huang and a citizen of a third nation had allegedly collaborated with Britain since 2015 newswire Associated Press reportedThe ministry claimed that Huang who had received intelligence training and equipment collected numerous state secrets during multiple visits to China Details about the gathered intelligence the timing of the detention and the detainees current location were not providedThe definition of state secrets is not clearly defined under Chinas legal system and many consulting and advisory firms have been investigated for obtaining data that would ordinarily be in the public record particularly if they were shared with foreign entities the AP report saidThe British government has yet to comment on the allegations of China intelligence agency but they follow a deterioration of relations between the sides sparked in part by British opposition to Chinese investments in the country especially in the power and communications industries where the ruling Communist Party exercises strong influenceLondon has also been highly critical of Chinas curtailment of political rights in Hong Kong a former British colony where violent antigovernment protests in 2019 were met with Beijings imposition of a sweeping national security law and electoral changes Those have largely eliminated any political opposition to Beijings decrees and silenced freedom of speech in what had been one of Asias most dynamic societies and a major financial centreMeanwhile Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has arrived in Beijing on Monday on a fiveday state visit during which he is due to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and sign several agreements to bolster the bilateral tiesAlso read Five police officials killed 22 people injured in blast near police van in PakistanMuizzu who is regarded as ldquoproChinardquo is accompanied by his wife Sajidha Mohamed and a highlevel delegation The President and the First Lady were greeted by senior Chinese officials upon their arrivalMuizzu is due to hold talks with Chinese President Xi and sign several agreements to bolster the bilateral ties according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang WenbinThe relations between China and the Maldives now stand at a new historical starting point We believe that through this visit the two heads of state will provide strategic guidance for the bilateral relations to reach a new height Wang told the media on January 5During President Muizzus visit the Maldives and China will hold official talks and sign key agreements to enhance trade professional development and socioeconomic cooperation the Maldivian Presidents Office said in a press release With inputs from agencies