Washington DC, Oct. 6 -- China's expanding espionage and technology-gathering activities are raising concerns over national security, critical infrastructure and democratic societies, with analysts warning that stolen data and advanced technologies could be used for surveillance, cyber operations and political interference, The Epoch Times reported.

The concerns follow an unprecedented alert issued by Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5 on September 30 regarding academic research allegedly linked to China's Ministry of State Security (MSS), according to The Epoch Times.

The Epoch Times reported that more than 100 UK-linked academics had contributed to projects connected with China's civilian intelligence agency. The newspaper sai...