Commentary
The Department of Homeland Security’s 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment identifies communist China as a multifaceted threat to the United States, encompassing economic espionage, intellectual property theft, cyber operations, transnational repression, illegal immigration, synthetic drug trafficking, geopolitical influence campaigns, and subnational engagements.
The report, which examines key areas of concern, including public safety, economic security, and geopolitical competition, underscores China’s use of covert and overt tactics to undermine U.S. national interests. Central to these concerns is Beijing’s campaign of transnational repression, targeting critics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) within the United States through surveillance, harassment, and cyber operations. Recent indictments of CCP-backed hackers reveal a sustained effort to intimidate dissidents, steal intellectual property, and compromise U.S. businesses.
The Chinese regime’s role in economic espionage, information theft, and intellectual property crimes costs the United States between $225 billion and $600 billion each year. The regime employs aggressive strategies to steal sensitive U.S. technology, research, and intellectual property, inflicting economic losses and undermining U.S. competitiveness. These activities facilitate the transfer of cutting-edge technologies to the People’s Liberation Army, giving Beijing a strategic advantage.
Since 2023, U.S. authorities have charged more than 20 individuals involved in intellectual property theft, sanctions violations, and illegal export controls linked to China, as well as to other adversarial nations such as Iran and Russia.
Beijing’s illicit procurement efforts primarily target U.S. manufacturers and research institutions, focusing on the acquisition of proprietary technologies and intellectual property. Unlike other adversaries—such as Iran, North Korea, and Russia—which often rely on third-party intermediaries to purchase finished products, the Chinese regime emphasizes direct theft and espionage to access sensitive data and technological advancements. For example, semiconductors labeled as U.S.-made were recently found in Russian military equipment despite strict sanctions, illustrating how adversarial nations exploit vulnerabilities in global supply chains.
The Chinese regime’s economic espionage is further enabled by its subnational engagements with U.S. state, local, and private sector officials. These interactions often serve to enhance Beijing’s ability to align local policies with CCP priorities, creating opportunities for espionage and economic exploitation under the guise of legitimate partnerships. The risks are compounded by Beijing’s counterespionage law, which mandates cooperation with state intelligence operations, exposing U.S. companies operating in or collaborating with Chinese entities to the potential theft of proprietary and private information.
China’s subversive activities extend to efforts to influence and destabilize U.S. democratic institutions and societal cohesion. The Department of Homeland Security warns that the CCP employs a mix of undeclared, coercive, and criminal tactics to sow division and erode public trust in American institutions. Advances in artificial intelligence are expected to enhance these operations, allowing the CCP to produce and disseminate more authentic-looking misinformation while concealing its origins. The Chinese regime is also identified as one of the foremost threats to transnational repression in the United States, targeting ethnic and religious minorities, political dissidents, Taiwan supporters, and journalists to silence critical voices.
Beijing’s determination to suppress dissent is evident in its sustained cyber operations and subversive tactics. In March 2024, the Department of Justice indicted seven China-based individuals involved in a state-backed hacking group that targeted U.S.-based critics, businesses, and political figures over the course of 14 years. Such cyber operations aim to intimidate dissidents, steal sensitive information, and suppress opposition both domestically and abroad. Simultaneously, Beijing exploits legal and illegal channels, including subnational engagements, to manipulate U.S. local and state-level interactions, aligning with the CCP’s strategy to undermine the United States. These strategies foster dependencies that threaten long-term economic and national security.
Illegal immigration and potential infiltration by CCP agents represent growing threats tied to Beijing’s activities. Encounters at the U.S.–Mexico border involving Chinese nationals have surged dramatically in recent years. Historically, such encounters were minimal, averaging about 1,000 annually from 2007 to 2021. However, these numbers skyrocketed from 1,970 in fiscal year (FY) 2022 to 24,048 in FY 2023—an astonishing 1,100 percent increase. The trend continues, with 27,496 encounters reported in the first seven months of FY 2024 alone.
Despite the sharp increase, the Border Patrol’s screening process for these individuals remains superficial, limited to basic questions about education, birthplace, and political affiliation rather than conducting thorough investigations. Compounding the issue, unreliable information from China and inadequate translation resources further hinder the Customs and Border Protection’s ability to assess potential criminal or national security threats. This minimal scrutiny leaves authorities ill-equipped to determine whether these individuals have direct ties to the Chinese military or the CCP.
China-linked firms play a central role in the U.S. synthetic drug crisis by supplying chemical precursors and highly potent alternatives such as nitazenes, which have fueled an overdose epidemic devastating American communities. These substances, often more lethal than fentanyl, are used by U.S.-based traffickers to create inexpensive, highly addictive drug mixtures, including combinations with xylazine and nitazenes, exacerbating the crisis.
Chinese suppliers legally produce many of these chemicals but divert them for illicit use, shipping them to Mexico where transnational criminal organizations, such as the Sinaloa cartel and Jalisco New Generation cartel, manufacture fentanyl. These cartels use pill presses, often imported from China, to produce counterfeit medications laced with fentanyl or methamphetamine, some of which are sold in U.S. border regions and tourist areas. Adding to the crisis, Chinese money laundering organizations assist cartels in repatriating drug proceeds to Mexico’s banking system, solidifying China’s integral role in the synthetic opioid supply chain.
The 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment highlights the CCP’s persistent efforts to undermine U.S. security, economic stability, and democratic institutions. From economic espionage and cyber operations to its role in the synthetic drug crisis and manipulation of U.S. policies through subnational engagements, Beijing’s actions pose a clear and multifaceted threat. Combating these challenges will require stronger law enforcement, enhanced cybersecurity, and coordinated efforts at all levels of government to protect U.S. interests and sovereignty against the CCP’s expanding influence.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
