Analysts urge US to lift ban on economic espionage as China intensifies tech theft
Experts say the United States’ self-imposed prohibition on economic espionage endangers its competitive edge, especially as China ramps up commercial spying.
During the Cold War, both allies and rivals routinely stole commercial secrets from U.S. firms, a practice that continued into the post-Cold War era. In 2014, the Obama administration formally prohibited U.S. intelligence agencies from gathering corporate secrets to give American companies a competitive edge, a policy reinforced by subsequent administrations. The Center for Strategic and International Studies recorded 224 China-sponsored espionage cases against the United States from 2000 to 2023, with over half aimed at commercial technologies.
Analysts now contend that national security increasingly relies on breakthroughs from private-sector fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum science and next-generation energy, making the old prohibition obsolete. They recommend allowing agencies like the CIA and FBI to both acquire foreign corporate intelligence and disseminate it to U.S. firms developing critical technologies. While the Trump administration signaled a move toward broader spying on China, the formal ban has not been repealed, leaving a policy gap as China announces advances like the world’s fastest supercomputer and ultra-fast-charging batteries.
