The scale of Chinese espionage targeting the United States has reached alarming levels, with the FBI confirming that approximately 90 percent of economic espionage cases have a nexus to Beijing. By 2020, nearly half of the Bureau’s 5,000 active counterintelligence investigations centered on China, a testament to the relentless and pervasive threat.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has unequivocally stated that Chinese espionage represents the “greatest long-term threat” to America’s economic security and its future innovation. This isn’t simply about stolen intellectual property; it’s a calculated, sustained effort to undermine American power and influence.
A dedicated Department of Justice initiative, the China Initiative, was launched in 2018 to directly confront this escalating danger. The program aimed to dismantle networks of espionage, technology theft, and the activities of unregistered foreign agents operating within U.S. borders.
However, the China Initiative was controversially terminated in 2022 amid accusations of racial bias, leaving a critical gap in the nation’s defenses. Despite the program’s dismantling, Chinese espionage activity continued unabated, penetrating every sector from the military to the private sphere.
The infiltration extends even into the heart of the U.S. military. Petty Officer Wenheng “Thomas” Zhao, just 26 years old, received a 27-month prison sentence in January 2024 for conspiring with Chinese intelligence and trading sensitive military information – radar diagrams, training schedules, and operational details – for financial gain.
Just months later, in August 2025, Jinchao “Patrick” Wei, stationed aboard the USS Essex, was convicted on six counts, including espionage, for selling U.S. military secrets to China. He now faces the possibility of a life sentence, a stark illustration of the severity of the betrayal.
The technology sector hasn’t been spared. Linwei “Leon” Ding, a Google software engineer, was indicted in March 2024 for systematically stealing proprietary artificial intelligence data and transferring it to companies based in China. The charges included multiple counts of economic espionage and trade secret theft.
The reach of the CCP extends into the highest levels of government as well. John Harold Rogers, a former senior advisor to the Federal Reserve, was arrested in January 2025 for conspiring to steal sensitive economic data for Beijing. Simultaneously, Linda Sun, former deputy chief of staff to a state governor, faced charges for acting as an undisclosed foreign agent.
Cyber-espionage has become a central component of China’s strategy. In March 2025, Chinese nationals Yin Kecheng and Zhou Shuai were charged with orchestrating a decade-long campaign targeting U.S. defense contractors and critical agencies, including the Treasury Department.
That same month, a sweeping indictment implicated twelve Chinese nationals, including two Ministry of Public Security officers – the equivalent of CIA operatives – and individuals linked to known hacking groups, in a global network of computer intrusions affecting both federal and state systems.
Beyond high-tech theft and government infiltration, the tactics are remarkably diverse. Shujun Wang, 75, was convicted in August 2024 for infiltrating a New York-based pro-democracy organization while secretly reporting back to Chinese intelligence.
Ping Li, 59, received a four-year sentence in November 2024 for acting as an unregistered agent of China’s Ministry of State Security, leveraging his past employment at Verizon and Infosys to provide valuable intelligence. Cases involving clandestine cash drops further illustrate the complexity of the operation.
Even a State Department employee, Michael Schena, was sentenced to four years in September 2025 for transmitting classified documents to individuals he believed were Chinese agents, highlighting the vulnerability of even secure government positions.
These cases collectively reveal a systematic and multifaceted strategy employed by Beijing: the recruitment of assets through talent programs, the targeted acquisition of technology and defense secrets, the embedding of operatives within U.S. institutions, and the seamless integration of traditional espionage with cutting-edge cyber warfare.
The actions taken by the previous administration to restrict visas for Chinese researchers and to rigorously scrutinize individuals with ties to the Chinese Communist Party or the People’s Liberation Army were not only prudent but demonstrably justified in light of the overwhelming evidence.
