China pursuing aggressive spying program: US commission
WASHINGTON (AFP) — China's spies are acquiring critical US know-how to enhance its military and industrial might, posing the biggest threat to US technology, a US Congress-appointed commission warned Thursday.
"Chinese espionage in the United States, which now comprises the single greatest threat to US technology, is straining the US counterintelligence establishment," the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in a report to Congress.
To underline the seriousness of the espionage problem, the panel called for immediate steps to determine the country of origin of every US weapon system components and a "full assessment" of US intelligence capabilities related to China's military.
"The commission recommends that Congress require the Department of Defense to prepare a complete list of the country of origin of each component in every US weapon system to the bottom tier," the report said.
It also asked Congress to consider providing additional funding for US export control enforcement and counterintelligence efforts, specifically those tasked with preventing "illicit" technology transfers" to China and its "state-sponsored industrial espionage operations."
Industrial espionage "significantly contributes to China's military modernization and acquisition of new capabilities," the report said.
The commission wanted the Pentagon to monitor potential Chinese military applications of research and development conducted in China by US companies.
The panel also found the pace of military modernization in China exceeding official US estimates, commission vice-chairman Dan Blumenthal said.
China's defense industry, he said, was producing new generations of weapon systems with impressive speed and quality, in part because China had developed the capacity to integrate commercial technologies into military systems.
"In addition, industrial espionage has given Chinese companies an added source of new technologies," he said at a news conference where the report was released.
Blumenthal also expressed concern at "China's willingness to invest in and sell weapons to Iran and Sudan, both countries with abysmal human rights records."
The commission is also concerned about the increasing ability of China's military to destroy satellites and to undertake cyber attacks against a broad array of US computer networks, both government and civilian, chairman Carolyn Bartholomew said.
It called for tightening of measures to protect critical American computer networks and sensitive information from damage by cyber attacks.
"Chinese military strategists have embraced disruptive warfare techniques, including the use of cyber attacks (which) if carried out strategically on a large scale, could have catastrophic effects on the target country's critical infrastructure," it said.
A report earlier this year said China's military had successfully hacked into the US military computer network in June following months of efforts, forcing a shutdown of a system serving the office of Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The commission also charged that China's "control and manipulation of information" made it difficult or impossible for officials responsible for product safety in the United States and other nations to identify potential safety problems in Chinese imports on a timely basis.
Dangerous exports from China ranging from toys to seafood have sparked a wave of global bans and recalls in recent months and severely tarnished the made-in-China label.
Beijing has taken various steps to contain the problem, and in July executed the former head of its food and drug safety watchdog for corruption.
