On Wednesday, the US expressed worry over China’s appeal for its citizens to participate in anti-spying efforts and stated that it had been closely watching the implementation of Beijing’s enhanced anti-spying law.
China should encourage its citizens to participate in counterespionage operations, according to the Ministry of State Security of China, which includes providing avenues for people to report suspicious activity and rewarding them for doing so.
The ministry recommended that a framework be put in place that would allow average individuals to engage in counter-espionage on a “normal” basis.
That came after China’s counter-espionage law was expanded in July, which forbids the transmission of material that the country deems to be connected to national security. It has upset the US, which has cautioned that foreign companies in China may face sanctions for conducting routine business.
Speaking at a daily news briefing, State Department spokesman Matt Miller said, “We do have concerns over it, certainly encouraging citizens to spy on each other is something that’s of great concern.”
The new counter-espionage law in China, which as written considerably broadens the scope of what activities are considered espionage, is being attentively watched, he added.
Numerous Chinese and international citizens have been imprisoned and arrested in China in recent years on suspicion of espionage, including an executive from the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma in March. Since September 2020, Australian journalist Cheng Lei has been detained on suspicion of China of divulging state secrets to another nation.
China has claimed that it is threatened by spies at a time when Western countries, most notably the United States, have accused China of espionage and cyberattacks, which Beijing has denied.
