How U.S.-Linked Technology Helped Build China’s Global Surveillance Network — And Why Tibetan Refugees in Nepal Are Paying the Price

The white dome of Boudhanath rises above Kathmandu’s narrow lanes, its golden spire and the Buddha’s serene, all-seeing eyes long a symbol of refuge for Tibetans fleeing Chinese repression. Today, that sense of sanctuary is under a different gaze: thousands of Chinese-made CCTV cameras, facial-recognition systems and AI tools recording streets and border regions and dramatically chilling the once-visible Free Tibet movement.

Surveillance Exports, Global Reach

Chinese companies now supply surveillance technology to governments in at least 150 countries, from cameras in Vietnam to censorship systems in Pakistan and citywide monitoring in Kenya. For many cash-strapped states, Beijing’s turnkey packages — combining cameras, communications gear, analytics and training — are an inexpensive way to boost public security. But they also export tools that strengthen centralized control and enable intrusive policing.

The U.S. Link

There is an ironic twist: much of the software, hardware designs and advanced techniques now sold globally by Chinese firms grew from technology developed or transferred through ties with U.S. companies. Over decades, Western firms seeking access to China’s market entered joint ventures, licensed technologies, or set up local operations. Those ties, combined with talent recruitment and, in some documented cases, intellectual-property theft, helped Chinese firms close the technical gap and then export surveillance products worldwide.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to provide cloud services used by Chinese camera makers such as Hikvision and Dahua for their international operations. Both firms remain subject to U.S. export restrictions and appear on the Commerce Department’s Entity List for national-security and human-rights concerns, meaning sales are curtailed but not absolutely banned.

Nepal: A Case Study

An Associated Press investigation based on hundreds of Nepali procurement records, corporate and leaked documents, and more than 40 interviews found that Kathmandu is now covered by thousands of cameras, many equipped with night vision, facial recognition and AI tracking. Most of these systems were supplied, installed or supported by Chinese vendors — and many link back to an operations center a few blocks from the Chinese embassy where live feeds are monitored.

Key milestones in Nepal’s security build-out include:

• 2012–2016: CCTV and “safe city” projects expanded across Kathmandu, including cameras around the Boudhanath stupa after a 2013 self-immolation.
• 2013: Nepali police accepted a $5.5 million package of digital-trunking radios and infrastructure from Hytera, a partly state-owned Chinese firm, instead of pricier Western alternatives.
• 2016: Uniview — a company that spun out of Hewlett-Packard’s China surveillance business — supplied the first phase of Kathmandu’s safe-city command center.
• 2018: Nepal disclosed deployment of predictive-policing systems intended to anticipate protests and identify likely participants in advance.
• 2021: An internal Nepali government report obtained by AP noted surveillance installations inside Nepal and in restricted border buffer zones, a charge Beijing denies.

How The Systems Work

Operators in a multi-story command center monitor live streams from border towns, markets and intersections. Cameras equipped with AI can follow a single motorcycle through traffic, pick a face out of a crowd and flag patterns of movement for later review. The result is not merely observation but the creation of searchable records of people’s lives.

“There are cameras everywhere. There is no future,” said Sonam Tashi, a former protester now trying to secure safe passage for his son out of Nepal.

Human Costs

Once a vibrant stop for thousands of Tibetans fleeing across the Himalayas each year, Nepal’s Tibetan community has shrunk dramatically. Tibetan officials in exile say arrivals have fallen from more than 20,000 to roughly half that or less. Tightened border controls, diplomatic pressure from Beijing and expanded digital surveillance are widely cited reasons.

Tibetans without recognized refugee status in Nepal face restrictions on opening bank accounts, working legally and traveling. Many who protest are detained preemptively around sensitive anniversaries. Some who escape detention must be smuggled to India. The Tibetan reception center in Kathmandu, once a busy refuge, stands nearly empty.

From Partners To Competitors

Western ties helped accelerate China’s capabilities. Companies including Uniview (originating from HP’s China surveillance video business), Hytera, Hikvision, Dahua and Huawei have built products that bundle cameras, analytics and communications. Some U.S. firms provided components, partnerships or cloud services at various points; after 2019 sanctions and growing scrutiny, direct transfers slowed but many technologies had already diffused globally.

U.S. intelligence disclosures and subsequent policy shifts — including export controls and entity listings — have reduced some direct ties. Still, experts say the groundwork laid over decades means China has become a dominant supplier of surveillance tools worldwide.

What’s At Stake

The Nepal example illustrates how technology, diplomacy and economic incentives converge to reshape rights and mobility. For Tibetan refugees, the consequence has been a shrinking of public space and a rise in fear: many now describe Nepal as feeling like “a second China.” The larger lesson is global: the diffusion of dual-use technology can enable repression far beyond its origin.

Reporting for this story was contributed by Associated Press journalists in Kathmandu, New Delhi, Dharamshala and Washington.