How the Chinese Government Infiltrated America

No one knew exactly what it was when it first appeared in the skies above Montana.

It was nearly as tall as the Statue of Liberty.ⁱ

The early, confused reports said it looked almost like a second moon.ⁱⁱ

In short order, of course, we learned what it really was: a massive Chinese spy balloon.

And as it cut a path across the United States, Americans only grew more outraged. How could China act so brazenly within our own borders?

Which would’ve been a perfectly reasonable question…

…if it wasn’t for the fact that China has been doing way worse … for a long time.

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You know the stereotype: Americans can’t agree on anything anymore. Well, there’s at least one big exception to that rule: Across the political spectrum, Americans are united on the idea that China is a problem.

As recently as 2018, 53 percent of Americans still had a favorable perception of the country.ⁱⁱⁱ By early 2023, that had fallen to 15 percent.

Seriously. There are gum diseases that poll better.

And polling also shows that Americans regard China as, by far, the United States’ greatest enemy. ^iv

Now, you could say we’re just being paranoid but … the Chinese government is explicit about its goal to become the most powerful country in the world in the next 25 years^v — which, given that that position currently belongs to us, is not exactly a sign that they want to be friends.

Now if you’re aiming to be the world’s dominant power there are some obvious steps you need to take: Develop a huge economy. Build a powerful military. Steal every other country’s cuisine and turn it into a mid-market chain.

Ok, that last one might just be us.

But if you’re an authoritarian government like China’s, getting to #1 also involves doing whatever you can to undermine anyone who might oppose you. And a startling amount of that activity is happening right here in the U.S.

Lest that sound like we’re being dramatic, consider the following: The Chinese government has essentially been running its own “police stations” — those are the director of the FBI’s words, not ours^vi — right here in the U.S.^vii

Their purpose: to monitor and harass Chinese immigrants who are critical of the government in Beijing. In fact, in 2022 the Justice Department uncovered a plot in which they targeted a Chinese immigrant running for Congress in Brooklyn … and planned to take him out with a car crash.^viii

And research by human rights advocates has revealed that China runs similar installations in 53 countries around the world.^ix The result: over 230,000 expatriates who were “persuaded to return” to China to face potential criminal charges, often through threats to members of their family who are still in the country.^x

And this is far from the only time the Chinese government has made its influence felt on our soil.

In 2017, hackers backed by the Chinese military stole the personal information of approximately 145 million Americans — things like addresses, birthdates, and social security numbers — from the credit agency Equifax.^xi

Why was that data valuable? In part, to get better intelligence on Americans who might have access to national secrets.^xii

That was the story of the ex-CIA employee who gave the Chinese government highly classified information about American operatives in China; a man who, as his personal information likely showed, was deep in debt.^xiii And here’s the kicker: The Chinese government recruited him — as they attempt to do with thousands of people around the world — by offering him financial opportunities … through LinkedIn.^xiv

Which is obviously terrible … but, y’know, nice to know that someone finds it useful.

In fact, the Chinese government has grown increasingly comfortable using social media as a weapon.

Chinese diplomats often get big numbers on Twitter for criticizing Western governments, pushing their agenda straight into your feed. But a study from the Associated Press and Oxford University found that as much as half of that engagement comes from fake accounts likely tied to the Chinese government.^xv

In 2022, YouTube reported shutting down over 53,000 channels because they were part of Chinese influence operations. ^xvi

And it’s not just social media. The Chinese government has spent millions of dollars getting its propaganda into publications like the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Time magazine — where you often wouldn’t even know that it isn’t real news.^xvii

Beyond strongarm tactics and media manipulation, there’s also a long pattern of Chinese economic espionage.

Stealing $1 billion worth of R&D into advanced battery technology from a company in Oklahoma.^xviii

Attempting to pilfer the research behind COVID vaccines.^xix

Even an instance where the Chinese stole American technology used in submarines … and then patented it and tried to sell it back to us ^xx — which is less the behavior of a superpower than the behavior of a cartoon burglar, but whatever.

So, no, Americans aren’t just being paranoid when it comes to China. We’ve never faced an adversary quite like this before. After all, even during the Cold War it wasn’t as if the Soviet Union had woven itself into our economy and our culture.

But China? They’re capable of exerting so much influence within our borders that we may not even know when we’re being manipulated. And, because of our economic interdependence, the process of unraveling that influence is likely to be slow and costly.

So, until that day comes, we all have to stay vigilant. We have to keep a watchful eye on the Chinese government. And we have to be very, very careful about where we buy our submarine supplies.