Chinese Espionage Targets Desired Key Technologies

The federal trial of Linda Sun, a former aide to Governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, began on Wednesday in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York. Sun is being accused of having worked as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government, receiving lavish gifts, free travel and business favors. She also allegedly brokered shady pandemic-era business deals with China, which included large kickbacks. Her husband, Chris Hu, is on trial for money laundering, among other offenses.

Prosecuters believe Sun altered official supplier lists for mask und ventilators from China during the pandemic, faked invitations for Chinese dignitaries, tailored messaging in regards to Taiwan and was tasked with furthering relations of New York with Chinese province Henan by the local government there. During a raid at the couples' million-dollar home, agents confiscated a Rolex, a diamong ring and a Ferrari, the New York Times writes.

In many ways, the Sun/Hu case is not typical of Chinese espionage cases in the United States, as these often involve Chinese citizens instead of naturalized citizens like Sun and Hu, often target commercial and military technology instead of politicians or government agencies and are carried out online instead of in person half of the time. However, the Sun/Hu case is certainly emblematic of the brazen nature in which many cases of espionage by China continue to be carried out despite hundereds of them having been uncovered over the past years and decades in the U.S. and elsewhere.

The Center for Strategic Studies concluded that between 2020 and early 2023, 17 percent of known Chinese espionage cases in the U.S. involved U.S. government or politicians and that 90 percent of perpetrators were Chinese citizens. 54 percent of cases targeted commercial technology and 29 percent military technology.

A study by Nicholas Eftimiades titled Chinese Espionage - Operations and Tactics gives some insights into which technologies Chinese spies might be after in particular. Eftimiades was able to match almost three quarters of cases he analyzed – most carried out in the past 20 years - to key technologies the Chinese Communist Party has mentioned in its 2025 strategic industrial planning. Especially frequent are cases in connection to aerospace and aeronautical equipment as well as information technology (229 out of 595 cases), while almost 100 cases centered on biopharma, medical devices and automated machine tools.