The Epoch Times, known for its investigative reporting on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has highlighted a new propaganda campaign by China’s Ministry of State Security. In an article by Alex Wu titled “Exposing the Many Faces of Spies,” published on May 25, 2025, Chinese authorities listed five kinds of foreign “spies” and urged citizens to report them. Analysts say this effort is not truly about protecting national security, but about distracting people from China’s growing political and economic troubles.
The Five Types of Foreign Spies
In his article, Alex Wu outlined how the Chinese Ministry of State Security describes these five suspicious categories:
- Detectives Who Don’t Investigate
These are foreigners who claim to work for detective or consulting firms. The ministry said they “use detective companies and consulting companies as cover” to gather “sensitive information in high-tech fields and military facilities,” pretending to be verifying facts or offering paid consultation but actually conducting espionage. - Scholars Who Don’t Research
These are individuals who visit universities and research institutes in China under the “banner of academic exchanges and scientific research cooperation.” The ministry claims they collect “sensitive information and core technology” instead of conducting genuine research. - Businessmen Who Don’t Do Business
This group involves foreigners pretending to be powerful businesspeople. The ministry stated they “use the guise of investment and cooperation, and use money and emotional seduction to carry out defection.” They lure Chinese contacts with promises of investment or personal relationships to gather intelligence. - Tourists Who Don’t Sightsee
According to the ministry, these are “foreign agents who enter China under the guise of sightseeing, visiting relatives and friends, and conduct surveying and on-site search activities near military facilities and sensitive areas.” In other words, they use a tourist visa as cover for spying. - Lovers Who Don’t Care
The ministry warns that some foreign spies “approach Chinese students studying abroad and develop romantic relationships with them or use online dating to turn them,” using romance as a tool to gain secrets.
The ministry also said that foreign spies might disguise themselves as journalists, NGO staff, or visa officers. Citizens were told to “be vigilant” and report any suspicious activity “in a timely manner to state security agencies.”
Lai Jianping, a former Beijing lawyer who now leads the Canada-based Federation for a Democratic China, said this campaign is really about covering up China’s own extensive spying activities. Speaking to The Epoch Times on May 26, he said, “The spies the Chinese regime sends to all parts of the world are truly omnipresent.” He explained that Chinese agents include not only those sent from China, but also locals in other countries recruited to help Beijing.
Lai believes this propaganda is aimed at strengthening the CCP’s authoritarian rule by forcing ordinary Chinese citizens to watch for so-called spies. “They coerce all Chinese citizens to work for the Party to catch the so-called spies,” he said. Lai added, “The Chinese authorities think that the whole world, including those democratic countries, is acting the same as the Chinese rogue regime.”
Sheng Xue, vice chair of the Federation for a Democratic China and a Chinese Canadian writer, agreed that the Ministry of State Security’s real goal is to create fear and suspicion. “Because one of the most important principles of the CCP’s rule is based on fear, as it’s essentially a terrorist rule, they are trying to intensify this fear in society,” she said. Sheng argued that the ministry’s warnings are meant to “make people immediately feel hostile, resistant, and vigilant against any foreigner or Chinese returned from the outside world.”
Sheng compared this tactic to the days of Mao Zedong, the leader of communist China from 1949 to 1976. “In Mao Zedong’s era, they always did this,” she said. At that time, the regime forced people to inform on each other, even family members, to purge so-called “enemies” from within.
Sheng believes that the campaign is not truly about security but about shifting attention away from the CCP’s economic problems and growing unrest. She said, “The CCP needs to divert attention from the serious internal economic downturn, the people’s discontent, social anxiety, youth unemployment, capital outflow, and other problems.” By blaming “foreign hostile forces,” the regime tries to redirect social anger outward.
China Recruits Spies Abroad
Naturally, in true “Rules for Radical” fashion, these are the kinds of spies that China recruits and employs in other countries.
China’s Ministry of State Security, also known as the MSS, is the world’s largest and most active spy agency. Former U.S. diplomat Jim Lewis explained to CBS’s 60 Minutes that the MSS views Chinese nationals living abroad as special risks to Xi Jinping’s regime. “They could be plotting. It’s happened before. They could be agents of the evil foreign power. They could be learning something that Xi doesn’t want them to learn,” Lewis said.
Lewis said the MSS monitors Chinese nationals through apps like WeChat, which is used by more than a billion people worldwide and is heavily monitored by the Chinese state. The MSS also plants informants in college classrooms. Lewis said, “I’ve had Chinese students tell me, ‘I couldn’t talk in class because the fellow sitting over there in the corner would report back.’”
The MSS uses classic spy recruitment tactics like romance, money, and blackmail. Lewis said, “You’re a disgruntled employee. You haven’t been recognized, and someone comes along and flatters you and says you can pay them back.” If money and romance don’t work, the MSS threatens people’s families back in China. “The ability to blackmail people into being agents because of threats to their family is very powerful, and it’s a tool denied to the West,” Lewis said.
Lewis warned that this kind of state-run coercion is a sign of broader danger. “Countries that don’t respect their own citizens, don’t respect their neighbors,” he said. “When they mistreat their own citizens, you’re next.”
China’s Espionage Focus: Five Key Areas
A detailed study by Nicholas Eftimiades has shown that China’s spying efforts match its national development goals. These five key areas of interest include:
- Aerospace Technology – China seeks to catch up in satellites, aircraft, and advanced aviation.
- Information Technology – Targeting breakthroughs in software and secure data systems.
- Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals – Efforts to improve Chinese healthcare and become a global player in medicine.
- Clean Energy and Green Tech – Focus on renewable energy and storage solutions.
- Advanced Manufacturing – Robotics and precision tools to support China’s industrial expansion.
These targets fit with China’s “Made in China 2025” policy and other long-term development plans. According to Eftimiades, of 595 cases studied, 435 directly targeted these technology or information areas.
The Toll on the United States
The FBI reports opening a new China-related counterintelligence case every 10 hours. Experts say the theft of intellectual property alone costs the U.S. economy about $360 billion each year. Chinese espionage is quickly closing the gap in aerospace technology and compromising American security in space, communications, and military power.
While China’s propaganda claims to defend the nation from foreign spies, many see it as a cover for the regime’s own aggressive spying tactics around the world. In the end, the real threat may be a regime that is willing to spread fear at home and steal secrets abroad to boost its own power.