Britain’s electronic surveillance agency devotes more resources to China than any other mission. The country’s foreign spy service has clandestine officers around the world to thwart the Chinese threat. The head of MI5, focused on domestic risks, said this month that Chinese spies threaten national security “every day.”

英国电子监视机构对中国投入的资源超过任何其他任务。该国的海外情报机构在全球部署秘密特工，以应对来自中国的威胁。本月，负责国内安全的英国军情五处负责人表示，中国间谍“每天”都在威胁英国的国家安全。

The message from Britain’s intelligence agencies has been consistent: China is a clear threat.

英国情报机构传递的信息始终如一：中国是一个明确的威胁。

The message from the rest of the British government has been blurrier. This month, prosecutors dropped charges against two British men accused of spying on behalf of China. The case fell apart after the government would not confirm for legal purposes that China was an enemy or threat to national security.

英国政府其他部门传递的信息则没有那么明确。本月，检方撤销了对两名被指为中国进行间谍活动的英国男子的指控。由于政府不愿在法律上确认中国是敌国或国家安全威胁，该案最终流产。

Conservative lawmakers accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government of abandoning the case over fears a trial would anger China and harm economic ties between the two countries, charges he rejected.

保守党议员指责首相基尔·斯塔默领导的政府因担心审判会激怒中国并损害两国经济关系而放弃此案，但斯塔默否认了这一指控。

At the same time, British officials have been debating whether to allow China to build a massive new embassy near the Tower of London. Security officials worry the building will be a nest of spying. The government delayed a decision due last week about whether to allow construction.

与此同时，英国官员一直在讨论是否允许中国在伦敦塔附近建造一座规模庞大的新大使馆。安全官员担心这座建筑会成为间谍活动的窝点。政府推迟了原定于上周做出的是否批准建设的决定。

Both issues highlight the trade-offs that Britain and its allies face navigating relations with China. Western officials want the economic benefits of trading with China, the world’s second-largest economy, yet must balance that desire with the security risks that China poses. China has aggressively spied on Britain and its allies, not only by sweeping up communications but also conducting more pernicious operations such as burrowing into the networks of dams and electrical grids.

这两个问题凸显了英国及其盟友在处理对华关系时面临的权衡困境。西方官员希望从与中国——全球第二大经济体——的贸易中获得经济利益，但同时必须平衡中国带来的安全风险。中国对英国及其盟友大肆进行间谍活动，不仅大规模窃取通信信息，还开展了更具破坏性的行动，例如渗入水坝和电力系统网络。

The tension is acute in Britain, economically weakened in the decade since Brexit and struggling to attract investment and shore up domestic demand.

这种紧张关系在英国表现得尤为突出。脱欧十年来，英国的经济实力遭到削弱，正努力吸引投资并提振内需。

And China can retaliate. Its government can discourage Chinese investment and essentially tell state-owned companies to limit their business in Britain. It can restrict British exports through tariffs, including on autos, one of Britain’s top export commodities, said Eswar Prasad, a trade policy professor at Cornell University. Additionally, China uses a lot of British bank services that it could divert elsewhere, he said.

中国也有能力进行反制。政府可以阻止中国企业对英投资，告诉国有企业收缩在英业务。康奈尔大学贸易政策教授埃斯瓦尔·普拉萨德表示，中国还可以通过关税来限制英国出口，其中包括汽车——这是英国的主要出口商品之一。此外，他指出，中国使用了大量英国银行的金融服务，也可以将这些业务转移到他国。

“Britain is in a very weak economic position,” he said, adding, “China is seen as a potential benefactor, if not savior.”

“英国目前的经济状况非常脆弱，”他说，并补充道：“中国被视为一个潜在的资助者，甚至可能是拯救者。”

包括路虎在内的汽车是英国对中国最主要的出口商品之一。

An Economic Lifeline

经济生命线

Britain has much to gain and lose in its relationship with China. China was its fifth-largest trading partner, with trade totaling nearly £100 billion a year, according to government data. Imports from China accounted for more than 70 percent of the total, including telecommunications equipment and machinery.

英中关系对英国而言利益与风险并存。根据政府数据，中国是英国的第五大贸易伙伴，双边贸易额每年接近1000亿英镑。其中，从中国进口的商品占比超过70%，主要包括电信设备和机械。

British leaders have sought in recent years to capitalize on China’s economic might. David Cameron, the prime minister from 2010 to 2016, oversaw what his government described as a “golden era” of close economic relations with China. His successor, Theresa May, traveled to Beijing in 2018 to bolster trade deals. Boris Johnson once vowed his government would be “pro-China.”

近年来，英国领导人一直寻求借力中国的经济实力。2010年至2016年任首相的戴维·卡梅伦推动了他所称的与中国“黄金时代”的紧密经济关系。他的继任者特蕾莎·梅于2018年访问北京深化贸易协定。鲍里斯·约翰逊则曾宣称，他的政府将“亲华”。

Relations between the countries ebbed because of British concerns over Chinese human rights and relentless cyberattacks. Under pressure from the first Trump administration, which took a hard line on China, Britain banned equipment from the Chinese technology giant Huawei in 2020 in the country’s high-speed wireless network. The move infuriated Chinese officials, who vowed Britain would “bear the consequences.”

由于英国对中国人权问题和持续不断的网络攻击感到担忧，两国关系逐渐降温。在对中国采取强硬立场的第一届特朗普政府的压力下，英国于2020年禁止在其高速无线网络中使用中国科技巨头华为的设备。此举激怒了中国官员，他们誓言英国将“承担后果”。

At the time, British officials presciently noted the Huawei episode was one of many complicated questions about China they would face in the years to come.

当时，英国官员就有先见之明地指出，华为事件只是未来几年他们将在对华关系中面临的众多复杂问题之一。

The rift only widened after the arrests of the two men in April 2024, accused of spying on behalf of China and charged with violating Britain’s Official Secrets Act. They were suspected of funneling information to a Chinese intelligence agent working for a company linked to China’s powerful Ministry of State Security.

这一裂痕在2024年4月两名男子被捕后进一步扩大——他们被指控为中国从事间谍活动，并违反英国《官方保密法》。调查显示，两人涉嫌向一名中国情报人员传递信息，此人供职于一家与强大的中国国家安全部有关联的公司。

As the case was being prosecuted, Mr. Starmer was elected and attempted a rapprochement with China. Last year at a Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, he called for a “consistent, durable” relationship with China. He was the first British leader in six years to meet with China’s leader, Xi Jinping.

在案件审理期间，基尔·斯塔默当选首相，并试图修复对华关系。去年在里约热内卢举行的二十国集团峰会上，他呼吁建立一种“稳定而持久”的对华关系。他是六年来首位与中国国家主席习近平会面的英国领导人。

Then, earlier this month, the government’s case collapsed weeks before trial, and the two men were acquitted. They have denied the charges, as did a Chinese government spokesman.

随后，在本月早些时候，距离开庭仅几周时，案件撤销了，两名被告被宣判无罪。他们否认了所有指控，中国政府发言人也同样予以否认。

Mr. Starmer’s critics saw the failed prosecution as political interference. He rebuffed the assertion and blamed Conservatives for moving too slowly to update the country’s laws to allow the case to move forward.

斯塔默的批评者认为，这起失败的起诉案是政治干预的结果。他对此予以反驳，转而指责保守党执政时期未能及时修订相关法律以致案件难以推进。

Hoping to tamp down the accusations that the government had undermined the case to avoid damaging trade with Beijing, Mr. Starmer released court documents from an expert witness intended to show that his government was tough on China.

为了平息外界对政府“为避免损害与北京的贸易关系而破坏案件”的指责，斯塔默公布了来自一名专家证人的法庭文件，试图证明他的政府在对华问题上态度强硬。

In the documents, the witness — Matthew Collins, Britain’s deputy national security adviser — laid out the clear risks presented by China, saying the country “presents the biggest state-based threat to the U.K.’s economic security.”

在这些文件中，证人——英国副国家安全顾问马修·柯林斯——阐明了中国带来的明显风险，称中国“对英国的经济安全构成了最大的国家层面威胁”。

Yet he also wrote, while the Conservative Party was in power, that the government was committed to “pursuing a positive economic relationship with China.” He reiterated similar thoughts about a month after Mr. Starmer assumed office as the head of the Labour Party, highlighting the new government’s desire to maintain “positive” relations with Beijing.

然而，他在保守党执政期间也曾写道，政府致力于“寻求与中国建立积极的经济关系”。在斯塔默作为工党领袖上任大约一个月后，他再次表达了类似的观点，强调新政府希望与北京保持“积极”的关系。

英国首相基尔·斯塔默去年在二十国集团峰会期间与中国国家主席习近平会面。

His statements showed the tensions that British officials have sought to balance, with mixed results.

他的这些表态揭示了英国官员试图在其中取得平衡，而结果参差不齐的两难局面。

“I am not sure if any of us have quite found the absolute way to be ensuring the global economy can benefit from China’s position and so forth while at the same time reining back some of the other aspects, the more worrying aspects of China’s activities,” Mrs. May said in a book about the intelligence-sharing group known as the Five Eyes by the author Richard Kerbaj.

特蕾莎·梅在理查德·克尔巴吉所著的一本关于情报共享组织“五眼联盟”的书中表示：“我不确定我们当中是否有人真正找到两全之策——既能让全球经济从中国的地位等方面受益，同时又能在某种程度上约束中国其他更令人担忧的行为。”

Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, told reporters during an annual update on Oct. 16 that he was frustrated over the collapse of the case that his agency had helped build.

英国军情五处总干事肯·麦卡勒姆在10月16日举行的年度通报会上向记者表示，他对本机构协助建立的案件被撤销感到失望。

“Do Chinese state actors present a U.K. national security threat? And the answer is, of course, yes they do, every day. I’ve said that today. I said that last year. I said it the year before. If I’m in this job a year from now, I’m sure I will say it then too.”

“中国国家行为体是否对英国构成国家安全威胁？答案当然是肯定的，这种威胁每天都在发生。我今天这样说，去年这样说，前年也这样说。如果一年后我仍在这个职位上，我肯定还会这么说。”

Embassy Row

大使馆之争

The Chinese embassy decision has been simmering for months, testing Beijing’s patience. The Chinese authorities have blocked Britain’s plans to rebuild its embassy in Beijing while they await approval for theirs in London.

关于中国新使馆建设的决策问题已酝酿数月，考验着北京的耐心。在等待伦敦新馆获批期间，中国政府已暂停审批英国重建其驻北京大使馆的计划。

China’s plans have been dogged by questions of spying and concerns that China could use the embassy to tap into strategic fiber-optic cables under the financial district and run spy operations out of the complex. If the government approves the 5.5-acre complex, it would be the largest diplomatic outpost in Europe.

中国的大使馆计划一直受到间谍活动相关质疑的困扰，人们担心中国可能利用该使馆窃听金融区下方的战略光纤电缆，并以此为基地开展间谍行动。如果政府批准这一占地223公亩的建筑群，它将成为欧洲规模最大的外交驻地。

China bought the property near the Tower of London in 2018 and submitted an application that was rejected in 2022 by the local London borough. Chinese officials resubmitted the request, and President Xi Jinping spoke with Mr. Starmer last year about the embassy.

中国于2018年购得伦敦塔附近的这块地，并在2022年向当地行政区提交建设申请，但被驳回。之后，中国官员重新提交了申请，而习近平去年也就此事与斯塔默进行了直接沟通。

The British government had been expected to rule on the matter last week but delayed the decision until Dec. 10, citing the complexity of the application.

英国政府原本预计上周就此事作出裁决，但以申请手续复杂为由而将决定推迟至12月10日。

The Chinese government accused British officials of acting in bad faith and issued a veiled threat that echoed its response in the Huawei case. “The British side,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “shall bear all consequences.”

中国政府指责英国官员缺乏诚意，并发出隐晦的威胁，和该国对华为事件的回应如出一辙。中国外交部发言人表示：“英方应承担一切后果。”