A prominent Republican lawmaker has accused China of establishing a network of informants within the Federal Reserve intended to give Beijing access to sensitive US economic data.
Ohio senator Rob Portman published a report on Tuesday alleging that China has for more than a decade targeted economists working for the US central bank to access insider information, using offers of lucrative contracts with Chinese talent programmes and in one case forcibly detaining a Fed employee during a trip to Shanghai.
The accusations come as US officials have raised concerns about the growing threat of Chinese espionage and infiltration against western groups, including companies, universities and hospitals. At the beginning of the month, the heads of the FBI and MI5 gathered for an unprecedented press conference to warn about the threat of China’s industrial espionage against western commercial life.