China built a bridge of spies that spans the globe

Beijing has built a bridge of spies that spans the globe. At the heart of the operation is the Ministry of State Security, one of the “most opaque pillars” of President Xi Jinping’s opaque political system. It was set up to spy for the Communist Party state, snuffing out dissent.

But since its birth in 1983, the MSS has grown into a worldwide threat. China’s tentacles now zero in on the United States and its allies, stealing research and cutting-edge technology, as well as fanning the flames of discontent in democracies.

“In recent years, the Ministry of State Security has significantly expanded its foreign intelligence operations, targeting institutions and critical infrastructure,” Patrick Omam, a geopolitical analyst, author and researcher, wrote in the Eurasia Review last month.

“Focused on cyber warfare and economic targets, the MSS has become a central instrument in China’s pursuit of geopolitical and technological dominance. In doing so, it strategically challenges the resilience of Western institutions,” he said.

Pilferage and propaganda:

• China’s spy agency was also linked to an extensive “cyber campaign in 2007” to steal F-35 designs and technical schematics belonging to primary and supply-chain subcontractors.
• They appeared in the J-31, the People’s Liberation Army’s stealth fighter, and its naval compatriot, the J-35. They are nearly virtual clones of the advanced American warplane.

Confronting this threat is [our] top priority.

FBI

Delve deeper: Nearly two decades later, the MSS has been “flooding the zone” with spies, according to a Newsweek report last week. “We’re talking about a vast espionage machine by China,” I-Chung Lai, the president of Taiwan’s Prospect Foundation, told the media group.

Between the lines: The sheer scale of Beijing’s espionage network has created outrage. “Nearly every week brings reports of a suspected Chinese spy arrested or a conviction of a Chinese citizen, from South Korea to Norway, and the US to Germany,” Newsweek reported.

Big picture: The FBI has constantly spelt out the dangers of Xi’s regime. “Confronting this threat is [our] top priority. To be clear, the adversary is not the Chinese people. The threat comes from policies pursued by an authoritarian government,” the FBI stated.

China Factor comment: It appears that overseas Chinese spies will not be coming in from the cold any time soon.