The escalating geopolitical and technological rivalry between the United States and China has entered a new, more public phase of spycraft, with both nations aggressively stepping up espionage and counter-espionage efforts, according to a detailed report by the South China Morning Post.
The latest developments include high-profile arrests, visa revocations, and retaliatory announcements by both countries’ intelligence agencies—actions that signal a shift toward open intelligence confrontation.
Last week, the FBI arrested 33-year-old Chinese national Xu Zewei at Milan’s Malpensa Airport for allegedly stealing sensitive American research on COVID-19 vaccines in 2020. FBI Director Kash Patel hailed the arrest on social media, characterizing it as part of a broader campaign against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), writing, “The FBI will hunt down those who threaten our national security – wherever they hide.”
In a swift response, China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) publicized the disruption of three foreign espionage plots. One case described a Chinese official allegedly blackmailed by a foreign agent using intimate photos, then coerced into stealing confidential documents.
According to the South China Morning Post, such tit-for-tat announcements reflect a growing willingness on both sides to bring intelligence battles into the public eye—an approach rarely seen in prior decades. Analysts say the increased visibility of these operations reflects not only rising tensions but also the internal political goals of each country’s security apparatus.
“This is no longer just a covert game,” said Dennis Wilder, former CIA deputy assistant director for East Asia and the Pacific, who noted the growing U.S. reliance on online recruitment of Chinese informants. “The relationship has developed into one of intense competition on many fronts—from trade to military supremacy to global influence.”
While FBI Director Patel continues to brand the CCP as “the adversary of our time,” the Trump administration has paradoxically loosened some export restrictions in recent weeks. U.S. tech giants Nvidia and AMD announced Tuesday they would resume selling artificial intelligence chips to Chinese firms, and software export controls were also partially lifted earlier this month in exchange for access to critical minerals.
Despite these concessions, few experts believe the espionage competition will slow down.
Sheena Chestnut Greitens, an associate professor at the University of Texas, told SCMP that “intelligence competition between the two great powers has also intensified,” noting that China’s intelligence apparatus has taken on a more global profile while the U.S. has responded with increased scrutiny and surveillance.
A report cited by SCMP from American cybersecurity firm Margin Research describes a Chinese “cyber militia system” of civilian volunteers reportedly operating under joint control of local governments and the military, further blurring the line between civilian and state espionage.
China, for its part, has denounced a series of CIA recruitment videos targeting Chinese officials, which Beijing claims are part of a broader strategy to undermine its state security.
The past several months have seen a flurry of spy-related arrests on both sides. U.S. prosecutors recently charged two Chinese nationals for attempting to recruit U.S. Navy personnel to pass classified information to the MSS, allegedly offering $10,000 in a “dead drop” operation. Meanwhile, three Chinese researchers were arrested in Michigan in June for attempting to smuggle biological materials into the country, and multiple military-related arrests of Chinese-American individuals have raised alarm within U.S. intelligence circles.
China has also arrested individuals suspected of working with foreign intelligence agencies, including a Chinese couple in June reportedly accused of spying for British intelligence.
As noted in the South China Morning Post, U.S. universities are increasingly caught in the crossfire. A congressional probe is examining ties between American institutions and China’s Scholarship Council, suspected by lawmakers of facilitating Chinese intelligence recruitment. The University of California, Berkeley, is under investigation for allegedly failing to report $220 million in Chinese government-linked funding.
Denis Simon, a fellow at the Quincy Institute, warned that U.S.-China relations are being framed in “zero-sum terms,” particularly in frontier technologies such as AI, semiconductors, and quantum computing. “We may be entering a new phase in which mutual paranoia is the default posture,” Simon told SCMP, adding that both nations now view even benign exchanges—academic, corporate, or personal—as potential security threats.
As the spy games intensify under Trump’s second term, analysts say the public disclosures of covert operations serve a dual purpose: deterring foreign influence and reassuring domestic audiences that national security remains a top priority.
