Chinese espionage in the United States has reached alarming levels over the past decade, infiltrating the military, technology, and government sectors. Between 2021 and 2024, federal authorities recorded more than sixty incidents linked to the Chinese Communist Party, with roughly 80 percent of all economic espionage prosecutions tied to China.
Recent cases have ranged from military personnel selling classified information to engineers and government officials accused of stealing proprietary data or acting as undeclared foreign agents.
In 2024 and 2025, indictments and convictions continued nationwide, exposing networks of Chinese operatives targeting defense contractors, AI firms, and political offices. The scope and persistence of these operations underscore China’s systematic effort to acquire U.S. technology and intelligence through both cyber and human espionage. Against this backdrop, President Biden’s termination of the Trump-era counterespionage program appears especially misguided.
During President Trump’s first term, the U.S. Trade Representative uncovered widespread theft of American intellectual property by China, while the FBI reported thousands of espionage cases linked to Beijing, roughly 90 percent of all such cases.
At Trump’s direction, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer launched a Section 301 investigation in August 2017 into China’s technology transfer and intellectual property practices. After seven months, a 200-page report released in March 2018 detailed how China used coercive and illegal methods to obtain U.S. technology.
The investigation identified four major categories of misconduct: forced technology transfers through joint ventures, discriminatory licensing practices, state-directed investments to acquire advanced technologies, and cyber intrusions to steal data. The report estimated China’s theft of U.S. intellectual property cost between $225 billion and $600 billion annually. President Trump also noted a $500 billion trade deficit, with IP theft adding another $300 billion to U.S. losses.
These practices were central to China’s “Made in China 2025” plan, which aimed to dominate industries such as aerospace, robotics, and advanced materials. China also accounted for 87 percent of counterfeit goods seized while entering the United States.
A December 2018 Department of Justice report to the Senate Intelligence Committee found that over 90 percent of economic espionage cases benefiting a foreign state involved China, and more than two-thirds of trade secret theft cases were linked to it.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein confirmed the findings, and FBI Director Christopher Wray later revealed that by 2020 nearly half of the FBI’s 5,000 active counterintelligence cases involved China, with a new case opening every ten hours.
Former NSA Director General Keith Alexander called this “the greatest transfer of wealth in history,” while Wray described Chinese espionage as “the greatest long-term threat to our nation’s information and intellectual property.”
In November 2018, the Department of Justice launched the China Initiative to counter these threats, but it was terminated under President Biden. On February 23, 2022, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen announced the program’s end, citing concerns that it created “a harmful perception” of bias based on ethnicity or origin.
The DOJ said the initiative drew criticism for allegedly promoting racial profiling and fear among Asian American communities. Civil rights groups and academics claimed it discouraged legitimate research, particularly among Chinese American scientists.
A survey of 1,229 Chinese American faculty members conducted between December 2021 and March 2022 found that 61 percent considered leaving the United States, 35 percent felt unwelcome, 42 percent feared conducting research, and 72 percent did not feel safe as researchers. And liberals feel that if policies are necessary for national security but they make people feel sad, or they target Chinese scientists, who are the number one espionage threat, these policies need to be terminated.
An MIT Technology Review analysis found that 88 percent of the 148 defendants charged under the China Initiative were of Chinese ancestry, yet most were not accused of espionage or working for the Chinese government. Critics used this as grounds to call for the program’s termination.
However, the initiative’s goal was to counter Chinese espionage, so it is logical that most of those arrested were of Chinese origin. While many were not charged with espionage, they were accused of other violations such as theft of intellectual property. Stealing proprietary information is a crime, even if it cannot be proven that the act was carried out on behalf of the Chinese government rather than for personal or financial gain.
MIT also reported that only 40 defendants were convicted or pled guilty, and that several cases were dropped, damaging the careers of researchers later found innocent. There are logical explanations for this as well. Espionage is difficult to prove, and many individuals were arrested for other violations, including immigration offenses. When proving espionage would be overly complex or unnecessary, the U.S. government often drops charges and expedites deportation.
None of this, including cases where defendants were acquitted, proves that the system unfairly targeted Chinese people. The data clearly show that China remains the world’s leading source of espionage against the United States.
None of this, including cases where some defendants were acquitted, proves that the system unfairly targeted Chinese people or that the program acted recklessly.
What the evidence does show is that China remains the world’s leading source of espionage against the United States. Beijing runs a highly sophisticated intelligence apparatus aimed at stealing American technology and defense secrets. Its strategy involves recruiting through “talent programs,” targeting the defense and technology sectors, embedding operatives within U.S. institutions, and combining traditional espionage with advanced cyber operations.
The threat is undeniable.
The Biden administration, however, weakened the U.S. response out of fear of hurting people’s feelings. By contrast, under President Trump, investigations, deportations, visa denials, and arrests of Chinese foreign agents all rose sharply.
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