By Kim Mackrael and Daniel Michaels
BRUSSELS -- China's cyber-espionage capabilities are now as sophisticated as the U.S.'s and are increasingly targeting Western defense industries, said the head of Dutch military intelligence.
Dutch Vice Adm. Peter Reesink said China is largely interested in gaining access to technologies from Western militaries and arms producers, and also in spotting vulnerabilities. He made the comments after his agency, known in Dutch as MIVD, released an annual report on Tuesday that said Beijing poses a growing threat to Europe alongside Russia and that the two countries' increasing cooperation compounds the danger.
Chinese cyber-espionage operations are "very capable, and they are organized in a very complex way," Reesink, the agency's director, said in an interview. "We are vulnerable and we're not always capable of seeing all the threats China produces."
The Dutch report adds to a chorus of Western spy services flagging rising risks for the West -- targeting both military and civilian assets -- from Beijing and Moscow's global ambitions. It comes as European officials worry that fractures in their relationship with the U.S. over the past year have left them more exposed to security threats.
Reesink said in a statement released alongside the agency's report that a weakening international system puts Europe at greater risk, particularly "where rules become blurred and power becomes increasingly determinant."
The report said Russia continues to pose the biggest and most direct threat to the continent's peace and stability. Russia is already preparing for a possible military conflict with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and could be ready within a year of ending hostilities in Ukraine, the report said -- though it said a direct conflict with Europe was very unlikely while fighting in Ukraine continued.
China's actions add to the threats Europe and NATO face, the report said. Growing ties between Russia and China are fueling Moscow's ambitions, it said, adding that Russia can count on China as an ally. Both countries have geopolitical ambitions and oppose Western influence in the world, it said.
The report comes from one of Europe's more outspoken countries on threats from Russia and China, and follows similar assessments from countries situated closer to Russia. But Europe's approach to Chinese threats still falls short of responses from the U.S. and Indo-Pacific allies, analysts said.
"The European response is still very Russia-focused, and China is seen as an indirect threat," said Oriana Skylar Mastro, a fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies who has recently taught in Italy. She said European countries are years behind allies such as Japan and Australia, and still see economic opportunities in China as outweighing security concerns.
"There's definitely not a sense of threat from China" across Europe, she said.
The Dutch report said China's military cooperation with Russia deepened over the past year. China's People's Liberation Army is eager to learn from Russia's combat experience in Ukraine, the report said, while Russia benefits from Chinese exports that support its arms industry.
Write to Kim Mackrael at kim.mackrael@wsj.com and Daniel Michaels at Dan.Michaels@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 21, 2026 11:38 ET (15:38 GMT)
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