Monday Briefing: China and US Fight Over Secrets

Plus, take on the world's largest "baby exporter."
ImageCredit...Illustration by Chantal Jahchan; photographs from Getty Images
The risky hunt for US and China secrets
The US-China spy game is even bigger than one that took place between the Americans and the Soviets during the Cold War, said Christopher A. Wray of the FBI. director. China's large population and economy allow it to create intelligence services larger than those of the United States.
When a Chinese spy balloon drifted into- over the continental United States in February, it launched a Spotlight on a growing and top-secret spy-on-spy contest. U.S. intelligence agencies learned that the People's Liberation Army kept President Xi Jinping himself in the dark about the balloon's trajectory until it flew over the United States.
For the United States, espionage efforts are a critical part of President Biden's strategy to curb China's military and technological rise, in line with to his thinking that the country poses the greatest long-term challenge to American power. For Beijing, the new tolerance for bold actions by China's spy agencies is driven by Xi, who has led his military to engage in aggressive actions along the country's borders and pushed his foreign intelligence agency to become more active in more remote areas. p>
Effective espionage can stop a slide toward war or facilitate delicate negotiations. It can also accelerate nations toward diplomatic divisions or armed conflict. The fight against espionage could also replace armed confrontations – as often happened during the Cold War.

World Sep 18, 2023 0 58 Add to Reading List

Monday Briefing: China and US Fight Over Secrets

Plus, take on the world's largest "baby exporter."

An illustration of a red balloon with the Chinese flag hanging to a satellite above the White House. A telescope atop the White House watches the balloon as military planes fly overhead. class=

The risky hunt for US and China secrets

The US-China spy game is even bigger than one that took place between the Americans and the Soviets during the Cold War, said Christopher A. Wray of the FBI. director. China's large population and economy allow it to create intelligence services larger than those of the United States.

When a Chinese spy balloon drifted into- over the continental United States in February, it launched a Spotlight on a growing and top-secret spy-on-spy contest. U.S. intelligence agencies learned that the People's Liberation Army kept President Xi Jinping himself in the dark about the balloon's trajectory until it flew over the United States.

For the United States, espionage efforts are a critical part of President Biden's strategy to curb China's military and technological rise, in line with to his thinking that the country poses the greatest long-term challenge to American power. For Beijing, the new tolerance for bold actions by China's spy agencies is driven by Xi, who has led his military to engage in aggressive actions along the country's borders and pushed his foreign intelligence agency to become more active in more remote areas. p>

Effective espionage can stop a slide toward war or facilitate delicate negotiations. It can also accelerate nations toward diplomatic divisions or armed conflict. The fight against espionage could also replace armed confrontations – as often happened during the Cold War.