December 13, 2018:

On Wednesday, expressing strong concern over the massive Chinese espionage activities in the United States, top American Senators urged the Trump Administration to initiate steps to address this major threat to the country's national security.

"I am increasingly concerned that China is gaining access to American secrets, using non-traditional all-of-nation approaches, to conduct espionage against our allies," Senator Ted Cruz said during a Congressional hearing on Chinese espionage activities.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Cruz said he had spoken a number of times to the leadership of a major research institute in Texas that was facing the ongoing challenges of Chinese espionage activities.

In particular, Chinese nationals being paid by the Chinese Govt. and working at that institution were working on sensitive research projects, he said, adding that they suddenly discovered projects that they were in the midst of working, companies out of China were filing US patent applications and seeking to get US intellectual property in the midst of the research.

Senator Chuck Grassley said China was believed to be responsible for 50 to 80 per cent of the cross-border intellectual property theft worldwide and over 90 per cent of cyber-enabled economic espionage in the US.

When it comes to espionage, FBI Director Christopher Wray has said earlier, "there's no country that is even close" to the People's Republic of China. General Keith Alexander called China's estimated gains from economic espionage of up to USD 600 billion "the greatest transfer of wealth in history".

According to Grassley, Russia has distracted attention from an arguably greater, more existential threat, and that happens to be China's efforts to overtake the US as a world preeminent superpower in all phases of society and economy.

"Transfer and theft of American intellectual property by the Chinese government is today the most pressing economic and national security challenge facing our country and I believe China as well," Senator Diana Feinstein said, alleging that cyber espionage and theft remained a lucrative practice for the Chinese government.

China, she said had adopted non-traditional espionage tactics.

Source Link

Picture Source :