Xinhua plays UK spy agency for laughs

Britain's spy chief yesterday thanked China's state news agency for "free publicity" after it posted a spoof of James Bond that mocked the Western intelligence community's growing focus on threats posed by Beijing.

MI6 head Richard Moore - codenamed "C" within the agency - previously said adapting to China's rise was the spy service's "single greatest priority."

In a tongue-in-cheek Twitter post, state news agency Xinhua said it had uncovered "leaked video" of a "secret meeting" between British and American spies after Moore bumped Beijing higher on MI6's agenda. The attached clip - titled No Time to Die Laughing - featured a pair of Chinese actors playing fictional British spies called "James Pond" and "Black Window."

In 4 1/2 minutes of what Xinhua called "rib-tickling moments" filled with canned laughter, the elegantly dressed duo enter a castle and start discussing a dossier on Chinese espionage tactics, only to realize the papers actually refer to the United States.