LONDON - The Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom has refuted a claim by the British inventor Sir James Dyson that some Chinese students in the country are engaged in espionage.

"The claim, which is shocking and entirely unfounded and illogical, seriously misleads the public," the embassy said in a letter published in the latest edition of The Sunday Times.

The newspaper carried a story headlined "Dyson: China has spy bugs in British universities" on March 27, which claimed that Chinese students are infiltrating British universities to steal technological and scientific secrets and even planting software bugs to relay the information to China.

Dyson, known for inventing the bagless vacuum cleaner, claimed he had evidence that the bugs were left by postgraduates to ensure the thefts continued after they had returned home.

But the embassy noted that, "British universities are in the best position to know the extent to which they allow foreign students to have access to information. So far no British university has raised any concern of this kind with the Chinese embassy in the UK."

The article in the newspaper is a damaging slander to all Chinese students in the UK, the embassy added.

According to official figures, nearly 120,000 Chinese people study and conduct research in the UK. Most are self-funded, paying tuition fees much higher than their British classmates.

Dyson also said the extent to which foreign students dominated many science, technology and engineering research posts, often paid for by British taxpayers, was "madness".

"As an exporter and someone developing technology here, it's very disheartening to see these universities being used by foreign countries and foreign companies," said Dyson.

The embassy asked in the letter: "Does this mean the UK does not welcome foreign students, and is it a mistake for foreign students to study in this country?

"The Chinese government encourages its students to study in the UK and also asks them to abide by British law and to be committed to promoting friendship and cooperation between the two countries," the embassy said.

Frazer Macdonald, senior policy adviser in the Joint International Unit of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which is in charge of higher education in Britain, told the education section of the embassy that the UK attached importance to the UK-China educational exchanges and cooperation, and the British government welcomes Chinese students.

Zhang Ze, a student of electrical and electronic engineering at Imperial College London, told China Daily that Dyson's claim was one-sided and irresponsible.

"Every college or university has strict rules to protect patents. If he has evidence of Chinese students stealing intellectual property and technology inventions, he may appeal to the court," Zhang said, adding that Dyson's claim damages Chinese students' reputation.

"We hope that Britain can provide Chinese students with a good learning and living environment, and that the British media can uphold the principles of objectivity and fairness and not believe and spread hearsay and groundless accusations," the embassy said.

Besides the letter from the Chinese embassy, The Sunday Times also published readers' letters condemning Dyson.

Among them, Maurice Juggins from Eckington, Worcestershire wrote: "I do not share Dyson's concern. Surely one should admire Chinese enterprise in having more than 50,000 students in Britain. Given the success of Chinese business and engineering skills, perhaps it would help our recovery if we had an equivalent number studying in China."

China Daily