The United States recently apprehended two Chinese nationals for spying inside the country, reportedly at the behest of China’s Ministry of State Security, or MSS, which has the reputation of being the largest and most active spy agency in the world.
“This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” Attorney General Pam Bondi was quoted as saying. “The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country – we will expose foreign operatives, hold their agents to account, and protect the American people from covert threats to our national security.”
One of the accused has been identified as Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, who lives in China but was visiting Texas this past spring as part of an attempt to oversee covert espionage operations on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security, or MSS. The second accused is named Yuance Chen, 38, who entered the country on a visa in 2015 and subsequently became a lawful permanent resident.
The two were reportedly taken into custody on suspicion of clandestinely carrying out China’s orders without legally registering as foreign agents with the US Justice Department.
Investigators suspect Lai had been preparing Chen to be a Chinese intelligence asset since at least mid-2021. According to the FBI, one of their operations involved planning a cash dead-drop of at least $10,000 to someone else working under the MSS. Additionally, they took part in and coordinated surveillance of a Navy installation in Washington state and a Navy recruiting station in California, including using photos allegedly taken by Chen that investigators think were relayed back to the MSS.
According to authorities, Lai and Chen allegedly discussed enlisting US Navy personnel to work for China, with Chen at one time acquiring the names, residences, and programs of new hires. The FBI affidavit states that investigators suspect the information was sent to China, based on the fact that several individuals listed China as their hometown.
Two Chinese nationals were caught spying on our Navy and trying to recruit American service members for the CCP’s intel service.
Our FBI won’t stand for it. We tracked them, we stopped them, and we’re not done yet.
Espionage on U.S. soil will be met with full force. pic.twitter.com/VB6lQYuHWM
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) July 1, 2025
The affidavit also reportedly describes discussions aimed at determining whether specific Navy personnel would be suitable candidates for Chinese intelligence recruitment. Chen once sent Lai the name of a Navy employee and said, “I found out. His mother is Chinese. His father and mother did not get along, and his mother was given custody when he was 8 years old. That is why he uses his mother’s last name.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning says that China has always opposed “the hype over so-called Chinese spies,” in response to the accusation by the US of two Chinese nationals "acting as agents of China’s security services."#China #US pic.twitter.com/WhCrWsIVrf
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 2, 2025
In response to the arrests and accusations of spying leveled at China, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that China has always opposed “the hype over so-called Chinese spies” in response to the accusation by the US of two Chinese nationals “acting as agents of China’s security services.”
Notably, the case is one of several involving Chinese intelligence gathering in the country, including the US military. For instance, two Navy sailors were accused in August 2023 of giving China classified military secrets, such as specifics on naval operations, warfare drills, and vital technical data.
The spying on the US military has also transcended geography, with several cases emerging out of countries that host the US military assets.
South Korea disclosed that three Chinese students were apprehended for illegally filming a US aircraft carrier with a drone. The students used a drone to record the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which was docked near the Busan Operational Base of the Naval Operations Command in June 2024.
Separately, reports in April and May last year indicated that a Chinese drone was taking pictures and videos of the USS Ronald Reagan at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan.
Chinese spying captured the US public imagination in a big way in February 2023 when a rogue Chinese balloon flew over strategic military installations in the continental US.
Beijing has since been accused of resorting to various methods to spy on the US, including through farmlands purchased by Chinese nationals near US bases, or chips installed on cranes used at US seaports.
At the center of this entire effort is the MSS, the organization that has now surpassed every other spy agency in the world in terms of active espionage, which has swept across regions such as Europe, the US, Australia, and the Indo-Pacific.
What Is The MSS?
Traditionally cloaked in secrecy and mostly missing from public conversation, the Ministry of State Security is one of the most opaque branches of the Chinese government, having been established in 1983.
The shadowy presence of this secret service began to emerge under President Xi Jinping. Under his leadership, the MSS underwent reforms in 2016-17, shifting to “vertical leadership” to centralize control, reducing local party committee influence, and enhancing oversight of lower-level bureaus.
The agency has become bolder since Chen Yixin took over in 2022, frequently projecting its dominance through internet campaigns and propaganda.
The agency’s duties are extensive and include political security, counterintelligence, domestic monitoring, and the collection of foreign intelligence, including cyber and traditional (human) intelligence. Its headquarters, known as Yidongyuan, is located in Beijing’s Haidian district, with semi-autonomous branches at provincial, city, municipality, and township levels across China.
Unlike its Western counterparts, such as the American CIA or the British MI6, the MSS is deeply intertwined with the Communist Party’s political mission, placing the protection of the CCP’s leadership and China’s socialist system at the core of its mission, as stated in its August 2023 declaration. Some observers believe that this also includes suppressing internal dissent and targeting religious groups.
The MSS has been accused of targeting sensitive data, trade secrets, and intellectual property from industries such as technology, biomedicine, aerospace, and defense.
It has been described as the world’s largest and most active intelligence agency, with estimates suggesting a workforce of up to 600,000 employees. “China’s main spy agency, the Ministry of State Security—or MSS—is now the largest and most active spy agency in the world,” declared the anchor of 60Minutes on CBS News in a broadcast on May 18.
The CBS television network’s American news program, renowned for its in-depth investigative reporting, presented a clear picture of Beijing’s aspirations in global espionage. It stated rather categorically that the CCP is still determined to use a global network of secret spies to track and influence events outside of its borders, as well as to monitor and threaten Chinese dissidents overseas.
The investigation reportedly revealed that the MSS has embedded agents in Western universities, corporations, and even local governments, extending its reach much beyond conventional intelligence gathering.
“MSS’s top target isn’t a foreign government, though the United States comes in a close second. Instead, its highest priority is China’s people, including those living abroad, especially in the US,” Jim Lewis, a former U.S. diplomat with over 30 years of experience countering Chinese intelligence, told CBS News.
According to reports, more than 140 people have been charged by the US Department of Justice with charges related to Chinese espionage, hacking, harassment, and intimidation of expatriate populations in the last five years. China’s surveillance network has occasionally even targeted federal personnel in the US, looking to exploit their frustration to its advantage. It is believed that China’s spy agency pays hefty amounts to those foreign nationals who are willing to spy for it.
China has managed to establish a vast network of spies across various regions. For instance, the FBI uncovered a clandestine Chinese police station operating in plain sight in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Similar stations were later discovered elsewhere in European countries.
Disguised as a help center for Chinese expats renewing driver’s licenses and other documents, prosecutors say the real purpose of these stations was to monitor, threaten, and harass Chinese dissidents on foreign soil.
According to the US Intelligence Community’s Annual Threat Assessment, published in March, China is expected to become more adept at conducting covert influence and espionage activities as it incorporates artificial intelligence into its operations. Evidence of a comprehensive, coordinated espionage operation is growing across continents, despite Beijing’s public denials.
Director General Ken McCallum of the UK’s intelligence service, MI5, disclosed in August 2023 that China’s MSS had contacted over 20,000 UK citizens, primarily via LinkedIn, to obtain private information.
Similar trends were identified by France’s intelligence agencies in 2018, following the MSS’s contact with 4,000 people on LinkedIn. According to reports, the same technique was used to target over 10,000 persons in Germany.
The German security service has been particularly wary of Chinese spying, especially by Chinese nationals studying in the country, lamenting that Chinese spies are reportedly working relentlessly to gain access to cutting-edge technologies, including biotechnology, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and hypersonic technology.
For Chinese nationals, the order to spy is akin to a duty they cannot refuse. A secret service law was implemented in China in 2017, stipulating that “any organization or citizen shall support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work, according to the law.”
Put another way, it allowed the Chinese government to order any Chinese person or company to cooperate with the intelligence services. Thus, it is given a free license to spy.
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