Unlike the American people, the Chinese are very well aware of the way in which the CIA is attempting to spy upon them:
The WSJ has exposed quite a bit this time. Firstly, it revealed the public proclamation by the CIA of engaging in espionage activities against China, possibly in an attempt to exaggerate its own value and seek increased budgetary support from Congress. However, this also amounts to self-incrimination. When the US hypes and targets alleged “Chinese spies,” it consistently fails to provide concrete evidence. Instead, it initiates a smear campaign against China and subsequently demands China to prove its innocence. This pattern reveals that the US is fully aware of the lack of legitimacy in these “spy” allegations, yet shamelessly continues to clamor as if “no one can do anything about it.” The US is always very self-confident for being “right,” but its notion of “righteousness” differs fundamentally from the universally accepted definition.
Secondly, it proves that China’s counter-espionage work is highly effective. It has dismantled the US spy network in China and prevented it from rebuilding for 10 years. This is a major achievement in counter-espionage, causing the US to stumble in the face of China’s robust anti-espionage defense. When China revised its Counter-Espionage Law, it faced criticism from Western public opinion. Now it appears that the intention behind this criticism was to pressure China into removing its defenses and allowing their spies to operate freely within China’s borders. Fortunately, China has not fallen into this trap. China has been able to defend against espionage in the past, and will also have the ability to render CIA infiltration useless in the future.
Thirdly, it reminds us that the string of counter-espionage must be tightened. The CIA has indicated that rebuilding its spy network in China is currently their main focus and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. In 2021, there were reports that the CIA established a mission center for China, the only single-country mission center at the agency. All of this may make the situation of China’s counter-espionage more complex and severe.
I very much doubt it is a coincidence that a) Xi unexpectedly took power, b) the CPC terminated its partnership with US Jewry, and c) the US spy network in China was dismantled at approximately the same time. Nor is it a coincidence that the BRICS framework was ready to present to the nonaligned nations within months of the US sanctions regime being imposed upon Russia in response to the Special Military Operation in Ukraine.
So, it’s interesting that China is now willing to openly discuss, in its English state media, what has been happening for the last ten years. I don’t know why this topic is being presented for discussion, but I suspect it is significant in some way.