In a post on its official social media account, China’s Ministry of State Security wrote that foreign spies may be hiding in plain sight, using multiple identities to carry out activities that threaten the country’s national security.
The ministry highlighted five false identities commonly used by foreign spies: tourists who do not do tourism, academics who do not conduct real research, businesspeople who do not do business, and “disingenuous lovers” who exploit relationships to gather information.
Some agents may approach Chinese students abroad and pretend to be “foreign friends who share the same interests,” only to try to recruit them through romantic relationships, the ministry warned.
“Don’t be fooled by sweet talk and never reveal sensitive or confidential information to them,” he warned.
The ministry also urged the public to alert national security authorities about any suspicious individuals or activities.
In recent years, China has stepped up its counterintelligence work, with the Ministry of State Security publishing a series of messages on social media to raise public awareness of potential threats in seemingly normal contexts.
In Sunday’s post, the ministry warned of academics who “approach suddenly and excessively warmly” and foreign friends and online contacts who are “excessively eager and attentive” in seeking romantic relationships.
Foreign spies can infiltrate universities and research institutes by posing as academics interested in exchange and collaboration, the statement said.
They may also use financial incentives or promises of academic or personal favors to extract sensitive information and key technologies from China, he said.
It is strictly forbidden to take confidential material to academic events abroad, he added.
Citizens should also be wary of occasional foreign tourists and family visitors who show an interest in natural landscapes and geography near military or sensitive areas, or who wander, photograph or attempt to use high-precision mapping equipment in such areas.
People should also be wary of anyone trying to trick local residents into carrying out illegal removals and reconnaissance on site on their own.
China’s revised counterintelligence law, which came into effect in 2023, broadened the definition of espionage acts and strengthened the investigative powers of national security law enforcement agencies.
Under those stricter rules, the ministry announced in March that a former engineer at a Chinese research institute had been sentenced to death for selling classified material to foreign spy agencies.
