Criticizing China's Call for Counter-Espionage, US: Encouraging Citizens to Spy on Each Other Is Very Concerning

Illustration of the flags of China and the US. (Wikimedia Commons/Sgt. Mikki Sprinkle)

JAKARTA - The United States has expressed concern over China's calls to encourage its citizens to join counter-espionage activities, and said it is closely monitoring implementation of Beijing's expanded anti-espionage laws.

China's Ministry of State Security said Tuesday the country should encourage its citizens to join in counter-espionage work, including creating channels for individuals to report suspicious activity, as well as rewarding those who do.

A system that makes it "normal" for ordinary people to participate in counter-espionage must be created, the ministry said.

That follows an expansion of China's counter-espionage law that took effect in July, prohibiting the transfer of information deemed to be related to national security.

This worries the United States, which has warned that foreign companies in China could be penalized for ordinary business activities.

"We have concerns about this, certainly encouraging citizens to spy on each other is something of great concern," US State Department spokesman Matt Miller told a news conference, cited from Reuters, August 3.

"We are closely monitoring the implementation of China's new counter-espionage law as we have, which as written greatly widens the scope of any activity that counts as espionage," he said.

The Bamboo Curtain country has in recent years arrested and detained dozens of its nationals and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage, including an executive at Japanese drug company Astellas Pharma in March.

Meanwhile, Australian journalist Cheng Lei, accused by China of passing state secrets to other countries, has been detained since September 2020.

China's assertion that it is under threat of espionage comes as Western countries, especially the United States, accuse China of espionage and cyberattacks, accusations Beijing denies.