China has resorted to non-traditional spying methods to gather sensitive information related to national security and advanced scientific knowledge from the US and European countries. The recent case of a Chinese student pleading guilty to violating the US Espionage Act has vindicated the concerns raised by the West.
Several Chinese students studying abroad were arrested and prosecuted in recent years for carrying out spying on behalf of the communist government in Beijing. The intelligence chiefs of the Five Eyes countries– the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand—have publicly accused China of intellectual property theft, hacking and spying.
At the beginning of this year, a Canadian court denied a visa to a Chinese student fearing espionage. Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton believed Beijing may use the student for spying. “As hostile state actors increasingly use non-traditional methods to obtain sensitive information in Canada or abroad, contrary to Canada’s interests, the court’s appreciation of what constitutes ‘espionage’ must evolve,” he wrote in his ruling.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) earlier warned about the Chinese government’s attempts to steal sensitive information related to national security and intellectual property rights. Wesley Wark, a leading specialist in national security law, called the court ruling important for the protection of Canada’s research sector from the non-traditional espionage practices by China.
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, the board member of the think tank China Strategic Risks Institute, said Canada’s universities will now watch for potential military connections with students. “This is new and I think it’s something then that universities themselves need to be watching, to avoid admitting students who may be a security risk,” she said.
Several European countries have become concerned about the spy network of Chinese students. Universities and educational institutions in Germany, the UK, Belgium and Switzerland have begun restricting Chinese students, especially, those who are funded by the Beijing government. German education minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger called China-sponsored students a particular risk. “Research institutions and universities in Germany have a responsibility to safeguard themselves against espionage activities conducted by students receiving scholarships from the Chinese government,” she said.
A Chinese student was arrested in Switzerland in April 2024 on suspicion of spying for China. Amid the rising cases of espionage by Chinese students, Swiss universities have started sharing relevant information with security agencies. “An application from China is now considered very differently than it was five years ago,” said Anders Hagström, head of international affairs at technology institute ETH Zurich.
British security agencies have warned local universities of Chinese attempts to steal sensitive research, thus risking “national security”. They concluded that some of the 100,000-odd Chinese students studying in the UK could be spying and transmitting sensitive data to China to repay financial sponsorship given by the Beijing government.
International Relations expert Rory Cormac likened the Chinese students’ network to that of the Cambridge Five, a Soviet spy ring. The cutting-edge research into things like artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and synthetic biology developed by British scholars is at risk of being stolen and used for military use, he said. “The threat has evolved, and hostile states like China are now targeting academia to steal sensitive research from the UK’s world-class universities,” he said.
Now the UK government has formulated a model, under which universities will have to consult admissions of Chinese students with the security agencies. Alicia Kearns, British parliamentarian and chairwoman of the foreign affairs select committee, called the plan a “very welcome move” to prevent the hostile states. “Significant evidence indicates a systematic attempt by the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate British academia and exfiltrate critical research, capabilities and technologies,” she said.
The US and European countries are struggling to prevent Chinese espionage even as Beijing continues to bolster the non-traditional spying tactics. “There is a long tradition of Chinese intelligence geared toward capturing information assets, patents and strategic intellectual resources,” said Alexandre Papaemmanuel, a Paris-based intelligence expert.
