Economic Espionage Act of 1996: The theft of trade secrets that includes the intent to benefit a foreign entity or at least know that the offense will have that result.Traditional espionage (18 USC 792-799): The practice of spying or using spies to obtain information about the plans and activities of a foreign government.statutes and administrative regulations encompass those definitions: legal codes define as “espionage.” Four U.S. There is a wide variance in what the media, public, and U.S. Detailed analysis of these cases provides ample evidence that China is conducting espionage, as well who is responsible, their information objectives, gaps in their knowledge, and operational “tradecraft” techniques. Over the last five years, I compiled and analyzed 274 cases of Chinese espionage that have occurred since the year 2000. That type of understanding takes evidence based off detailed analysis of a sufficient body of data. One cannot simply look at a single or even several espionage cases and hope to understand if, and how, a nation state is conducting espionage. China is unlikely to significantly curb its espionage efforts, as they provide a cost-efficient means to expand the economy, advance research and development, project military power, and meet China’s stated goal to become a world power.Almost 25 percent of cases target commercial interests. Nearly half of China’s espionage efforts target U.S.
Get the NewsletterĮnjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Get briefed on the story of the week, and developing stories to watch across the Asia-Pacific. intelligence, security, and law enforcement apparatus is just starting, 20 years later, to catch on. Most of China’s espionage activities are not “traditional espionage,” yet they are having a profound impact on America’s economic wellbeing, national security, and potentially our political and governance processes. These activities support a national concerted effort to expand China’s economic and security interests. The problem is that these recent indictments and arrests are only two of hundreds, if not thousands of cases. Nations have been spying on the United States (and us on them) since the American Revolution.
The FBI indictment alleges Ji was tasked by his spymaster - a senior MSS officer in the Jiangsu Province MSS office.įor the United States, the problem is not these recent cases. Chaoqun Ji, a PRC national in Chicago, on espionage related charges. It is probably not a coincidence that FBI also arrested Mr. Belgian authorities placed him in custody on arrival and put him on a plane to the United States (most likely with an FBI escort). Weeks earlier, on October 10, the FBI announced the arrest of Mr. Yanjun Xu, alleged deputy division director of the Jiangsu Province Office (sixth bureau) of the Ministry of State Security, China’s main civilian spy agency. The FBI’s affidavit describes luring Xu to Belgium to illegally purchase General Electric commercial aviation technology. China’s defense industry is working to develop a comparable engine. The objective of this espionage was to steal intellectual data and confidential business information about the engine. The alleged scheme ran from 2010 to 2015 and targeted turbofan engine technology developed through a U.S.-French partnership. The United States charged the group with stealing airline engine technology from French and U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of 10 Chinese intelligence officers and cyber hackers from the Ministry of State Security (MSS), China’s main civilian espionage organization. I left the Members with what I thought was an ominous warning: “Do something about this now or you’ll be calling me back in 20 years screaming: ‘My God, how did this happen?’ ” Well, they never called me back, but if recent FBI arrests are any indication, the problem has gotten worse - a lot worse.
congressional committee on China’s espionage operations in the United States.
Twenty years ago, I testified before a U.S.