Amusingly, Britain depicts China and Russia as strategic rivals whose rush for control of some major technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and microprocessor design could threaten both Western security and a free internet.

Britain's new National Cyber Strategy said that China and Russia continue to advocate for greater national sovereignty over cyberspace as the answer to security challenges. Debates over the rules governing cyberspace will increasingly become a site of systemic competition between great powers, with a clash of values.

Britain will increasingly put pressure on a free internet as big powers and major technology companies promote competing visions of technical standards and internet governance.

China and Russia have both repeatedly denied Western allegations that either was behind cyber-attacks. Moscow and Beijing have said the West is in no position to lecture them on hacking or on the technologies they choose to develop.

Britain said 6G, artificial intelligence, microprocessors, and a range of quantum technologies including quantum computing, quantum sensing and post-quantum cryptography were priorities for development.

Protecting data would become more crucial, the report said.

"This infrastructure is a vital national asset, We will take a greater role in ensuring that data is sufficiently protected when processed, in transit, or stored at scale, for example in external data centres", the report said.