This week, Europe is slamming President Trump for refusing to keep funding the Ukraine war. While European leaders scramble to figure out how to bankroll it and keep it going, China is busy hacking Poland’s space agency and Belgium’s intelligence services.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) loves when the U.S. and the world are focused on Russia because Beijing is the much larger security threat. And while Washington is distracted, Beijing never sleeps—the CCP and its United Front Work Department are hard at work undermining the U.S.
Late last year, a federal investigation exposed a broad Chinese cyberespionage campaign, with hackers infiltrating multiple U.S. telecommunications networks to steal information from government officials and political figures, according to the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Hackers linked to Beijing compromised telecom networks, gaining access to call records and private communications of high-value individuals, mostly involved in government and politics. They also targeted sensitive law enforcement data, potentially attempting to breach FISA surveillance programs.
This revelation follows a string of Chinese cyberattacks, including Flax Typhoon, a hacking operation that infected over 200,000 consumer devices to build a botnet for further cyber crimes. Last month, Chinese hackers targeted the phones of Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Kamala Harris’s associates, underscoring Beijing’s aggressive digital espionage efforts.
Most recently, another U.S. telecom company was confirmed as a victim of China’s Salt Typhoon hacking campaign, which granted Beijing access to private calls and texts of an unknown number of Americans, according to a White House official. The hackers focused on the Washington-Virginia area, targeting government officials and political figures to identify high-value individuals and monitor their communications.
Additionally. researchers found over 12,000 exposed Cisco devices, with Salt Typhoon successfully breaching a critical subset of telecoms and universities. By configuring these devices to connect to their command-and-control servers via GRE tunnels, the hackers maintain persistent access, exfiltrate data, and continue posing a serious national security threat.
While China’s hacking threat is pervasive, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) employs many other methods to infiltrate the U.S. and compromise national security. A prime example is the case of U.S. Navy Petty Officer Thomas Zhao, whose arrest last year highlights the United Front Work Department’s (UFWD) role in espionage and its growing use of “virtual espionage”—a tactic where Chinese intelligence officers target U.S. military personnel and high-value individuals via social media.
Zhao was recruited through a stock trading chat group on WeChat, where a Chinese intelligence officer first engaged him in investment discussions before steering the conversation toward sensitive military topics.
Over two years, Zhao received $15,000 in exchange for classified photos and videos of restricted areas at his Southern California base, demonstrating how China exploits social media to penetrate U.S. military infrastructure.
FBI officials warn that China is aggressively using social media to infiltrate U.S. institutions, casting a wide net to manipulate and compromise individuals with access to sensitive information.
This case highlights Beijing’s persistent efforts to penetrate U.S. military infrastructure through unconventional intelligence-gathering methods, with many of these operations led by the United Front Work Department (UFWD).
The UFWD is a core arm of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) influence operations, working to expand Beijing’s political, economic, and ideological reach abroad.
While it presents itself as a diplomatic and cultural outreach effort, it is deeply embedded in intelligence gathering, elite co-optation, and disinformation campaigns. Operating through Chinese business, academia, and diaspora networks in the U.S., the UFWD works to shape public opinion, silence CCP critics, and advance China’s strategic interests.
China’s United Front Work Department (UFWD) is one of Beijing’s most effective yet overlooked global influence tools, blurring the line between soft power and covert operations.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) extends its reach through consulates, trade, investment, technology partnerships, media, and research entities, embedding itself in U.S. economic and political structures at multiple levels.
A key strategy in China’s influence campaign is subnational engagement, where Beijing cultivates relationships at state and local levels through economic, informational, and political tools.
Unlike federal authorities that focus on national security, local governments prioritize economic development and job growth, making them more receptive to Beijing’s overtures. These efforts bypass federal oversight, creating power centers that shape local policies in ways that ultimately influence national decisions.
Beijing frames these subnational activities as “win-win mutual benefit,” emphasizing economic returns and dialogue while masking its strategic intent.
Through organizations like the Chinese embassy, consulates, and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), China leverages economic dependencies to shape narratives favorable to the CCP.
This not only distorts local markets but also entrenches long-term dependencies, aligning U.S. institutions and businesses with Beijing’s strategic interests at the expense of national security.
Despite these growing threats, U.S. policy responses remain fragmented and reactive. Efforts such as limiting Confucius Institutes or restricting Chinese investments are important but insufficient on their own.
A more coordinated strategy is needed, including alternative cultural exchanges, federal-state cooperation, and economic safeguards, to counter China’s influence while preserving democratic freedoms and economic security.
President Trump’s strong stance on China—through tariffs, trade restrictions, and limits on Chinese investment—is a critical step in countering Beijing’s threat.
Additionally, tightening border security will help reduce the number of Chinese agents entering the country, further safeguarding U.S. national security. However, the U.S. will be facing China alone, as Europe remains preoccupied with blaming America and fixating on Russia instead of addressing the real, long-term threat posed by Beijing.
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