U.S. Uncovers Multiple China-Linked Espionage Operations in 2025 — “Just the Tip of the Iceberg”

This year, U.S. authorities disclosed a series of China-linked espionage and influence activities spanning biological smuggling, human recruitment, cyber intrusions, and strategic property purchases near sensitive sites.

High-Profile Criminal Cases and Biological Smuggling

Federal prosecutors unsealed a 2024 smuggling plot this year involving a pathogen described by the government as a "potential agroterrorism weapon." Prosecutors say Yunqing Jian, 33, a researcher at the University of Michigan and a citizen of the People's Republic of China, received government-linked funding for related work. Jian pleaded guilty, received a sentence of time served, and was deported. Her partner, who admitted to transporting the biological agent through Detroit Metropolitan Airport to the University of Michigan laboratory, was also deported.

The national flags of the United States and China flutter at the Fairmont Peace Hotel on April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China.

In a separate case, the FBI charged Indiana University postdoctoral researcher Youhuang Xiang with attempting to import a dangerous strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and with making false statements to investigators, according to court filings made public this year.

Recruitment and Insider Threats

Justice Department filings also described efforts by China’s Ministry of State Security to recruit U.S. assets. In July, federal officials said they dismantled a "Clandestine PRC Ministry of State Security Intelligence Network" operating inside the United States that had tried to bribe active-duty personnel with thousands of dollars to serve as intelligence assets. In another prosecution, a federal jury convicted former Navy sailor Jinchao Wei (also known as Patrick Wei) of attempting to sell classified Navy information to a Chinese intelligence officer for $12,000.

Chinese President Xi Jinping

Cyber Operations and "Salt Typhoon"

Cyber intrusions remained central to the disclosures. The FBI’s top cyber official said a China-linked campaign known as "Salt Typhoon" had compromised at least 200 American companies and, reportedly, targeted law-enforcement wiretapping systems and information related to members of Congress. In March, the Department of Justice announced disruption of a China-based "hacker-for-hire ecosystem" that had been directed by intelligence officers and used contractors to obscure state involvement in cyber thefts.

Property Acquisitions and Strategic Concerns

Watchdogs and officials also flagged growing Chinese-linked acquisitions of U.S. farmland and properties near military installations. Purchases near Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri — which hosts the B-2 bomber fleet — including a trailer park adjacent to the base, drew particular scrutiny and national-security concern.

Expert Reactions

Gordon Chang, senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, told Fox Business that while the administration has taken broad actions against China, public messaging and information competition remain important.

Michael Lucci, founder of State Armor Action, warned that the incidents — from biological smuggling and E. coli import attempts to suspicious land purchases and destructive cyber tools — could be "just the tip of the iceberg," and urged state and federal leaders to accelerate protections against espionage, influence, and sabotage.

Taken together, law-enforcement disclosures in 2025 depict a multi-faceted campaign of concern to U.S. national security officials: biological risks, human-recruitment efforts, large-scale cyber intrusions, and strategic acquisitions of property near sensitive sites.