US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is heading to Shanghai and Beijing for three days of talks with senior Chinese officials as US-China ties are at a critical point. His visit also comes amid rising concern in Europe over Chinese espionage with several suspected spies detained in Germany and the UK.

Beijing

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is set to visit Shanghai and Beijing for a series of discussions over three days with top Chinese officials, marking a crucial juncture in US-China relations. The meetings are set against a backdrop of heightened tensions, reflecting a critical phase for the two nations' connections.

Blinken's trip to China also occurs as European concerns about Chinese espionage intensify, following the detention of several suspected spies in Germany and the UK. These events underscore growing apprehensions about China's activities abroad, particularly in the realms of cyberattacks and intellectual property theft.

The phenomenon of Chinese espionage is gaining attention in the Western world, notably with the recent apprehensions in Germany and the UK. Beyond these arrests, the broader threat of cyberattacks, where China leads globally ahead of Russia, poses a significant challenge for many countries. The European Repository of Cyber Incidents reports that Beijing conducted 240 state-affiliated cyberattacks between 2005 and 2023.

The primary focus of these cyberattacks has been the United States, as China aims to disrupt its rival in various sectors including economy, national security, and politics. This has led to substantial intellectual property theft from U.S. corporations, with estimates suggesting that one in five companies has experienced such incidents.

However, China's espionage efforts have expanded beyond the US, increasingly targeting Europe as well. A notable rise in cyberattacks from China has been reported by German companies, with incidents escalating significantly over recent years. This surge in cyber espionage activities has inflicted considerable financial damage, costing German businesses billions of euros and impacting the country's GDP.

In response to these espionage and cyberattack concerns, both the US and the EU have implemented measures against key Chinese companies such as Huawei and TikTok. These actions aim to safeguard sensitive technologies in high-risk fields such as AI, genetic engineering, and microchips, highlighting the international efforts to counteract China's cyber and espionage threats.



Blinken heads to China amid rising concern in Europe

As the US's top diplomat heads to China in a bid to improve fractured ties, concerns are on the rise in the West over Chinese espionage. The arrests of several suspected spies in Germany and the UK have made the headlines this week, though cyberattacks from afar are a much bigger concern for governments. China is the country behind the most cyberattacks in the world, ahead of Russia. Beijing was responsible for 240 state-affiliated attacks between 2005 and 2023, according to the European Repository of Cyber Incidents. The US is China's most sought-after target, as Beijing tries to disrupt its rival superpower's economy, national security and politics. China is trying to cheat its way into the top of industries in the 21st century. Intellectual property they don't subsidise or buy through shell companies, their cyber spies will steal. The scale of the theft is just staggering. A survey of chief financial officers estimates that one in five US corporations has had their IP stolen. But Beijing is increasingly setting its sights beyond the US to Europe. In 2021, 30% of German companies said they had been attacked from China. That figure rose to 43% just a year later. Attacks that are proving costly. While not entirely from Beijing, cyberattacks are estimated to have left German companies 223 billion euros out of pocket, or 6% of the country's GDP in 2021. Concerns over cyberespionage have pushed both the US and the EU to take out measures against several big Chinese companies in recent years, such as Huawei and TikTok, while increasing protection of technologies with the highest risk of being misused, including AI, genetic engineering and microchips.

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