Push Admin

FBI points to China as biggest US law-enforcement threat

Article (news)

Mark Hosenball and David Brunnstrom, Reuters

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/tvpatrol/02/01/20200206-yanqing-ye.jpg"/><figcaption>Images of Boston University robotics researcher Yanqing Ye appear on a wanted poster requesting information on her whereabouts, in a document released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Boston, Massachusetts, US, January 30, 2020. FBI, Handout via Reuters</figcaption></figure></div>WASHINGTON - The FBI on Thursday identified China as the biggest law enforcement threat to the United States, and its director said Beijing was seeking to steal American technology by &quot;any means necessary.&quot;FBI Director Christopher Wray told a conference the bureau currently had about 1,000 open investigations of Chinese technology theft across its 56 regional offices.FBI counterintelligence chief John Brown said the bureau arrested 24 people last year in China-related cases and had already arrested 19 in 2020.He told the conference at Washington&#x27;s Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) that the FBI believed &quot;no country poses a greater threat than Communist China.”Wray said the threat needed to be addressed through action across the whole of the US government.&quot;As I stand here talking with you today, the FBI has about 1,000 investigations involving China&#x27;s attempted theft of US-based technology in all 56 of our field offices and spanning just about every industry sector,&quot; he said.Wray added that China was aggressively exploiting US academic openness to steal technology, using &quot;campus proxies&quot; and establishing &quot;institutes on our campuses.&quot;William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, told the conference China was placing particular priority on stealing US aircraft and electric vehicle technology.In advance of Thursday&#x27;s event, Evanina estimated the theft of American trade secrets by China costs the United States &quot;anywhere from $300 (billion) to $600 billion&quot; a year.US Attorney General William Barr told the conference China has emerged as the &quot;top geopolitical adversary&quot; of the United States and highlighted the threat posed by Beijing&#x27;s pursuit of dominance in next-generation 5G telecommunications technology.&quot;China has stolen a march and is now leading in 5G,&quot; Barr said. &quot;They have already captured 40 percent of the market and are now aggressively pursuing the balance.&quot;The FBI data shows an aggressively stepped-up campaign by US authorities to root out Chinese espionage operations pursuing American secrets. This has snared a growing group of Chinese government officials, business people, and academics.In 2019 alone, public records show US authorities arrested and expelled two Chinese diplomats who allegedly drove onto a military base in Virginia. They also caught and jailed former CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency officials on espionage charges linked to China.China&#x27;s efforts to steal unclassified American technology, ranging from military secrets to medical research, have long been thought to be extensive and aggressive. But US officials launched a broad effort to stop alleged Chinese espionage in the United States only in 2018.<div>CHARGES &#x27;ENTIRELY BASELESS&#x27; -CHINA</div>The Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the US allegations as &quot;entirely baseless.&quot;&quot;The people-to-people exchange between China and the US is conducive to stronger understanding between the two peoples and serves the fundamental interests of our two countries,&quot; it said in an emailed statement.According to CSIS, of 137 publicly reported instances of Chinese-linked espionage against the United States since 2000, 73 percent took place in the last decade.The CSIS data, which excludes cases of intellectual property litigation and attempts to smuggle munitions or controlled technologies, shows that military and commercial technologies are the most common targets for theft.In the area of medical research, of 180 investigations of misuse of National Institutes of Health funds, diversion of research intellectual property and inappropriate sharing of confidential information, more than 90% of the cases have links to China, according to an NIH spokeswoman.One main reason Chinese espionage, including extensive hacking in cyberspace, has expanded is that &quot;China depends on Western technology and as licit avenues are closed, they turn to espionage to get access,&quot; said CSIS expert James Lewis.In late January alone, federal prosecutors in Boston announced three criminal cases involving industrial spying or stealing, including charges against a Harvard department chair.Prosecutors said Harvard&#x27;s Charles Lieber lied to the Pentagon and the NIH about his involvement in the Thousand Talents Plan: a Chinese government program that offers mainly Chinese scientists working overseas lavish financial incentives to bring their expertise and knowledge back to China. They said he also lied about his affiliation with China&#x27;s Wuhan University of Technology.During at least part of the time he had ties to the Chinese university, Lieber was also a &quot;principal investigator&quot; working on at least six research projects funded by US Defense Department agencies, court documents show.A lawyer for Lieber did not respond to a request for comment.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told a conference the bureau currently had about 1,000 open investigations of Chinese technology theft across its 56 regional offices.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told a conference the bureau currently had about 1,000 open investigations of Chinese technology theft across its 56 regional offices.

FBI points to China as biggest US law-enforcement threat

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Overseas

FBI points to China as biggest US law-enforcement threat

Mark Hosenball and David Brunnstrom,

Reuters

Published Feb 07, 2020 12:37 AM PHT

Read More:

US

United States

China

FBI

Center for Strategic and International Studies

CSIS

threat

law enforcement

espionage

spy

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.