China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) has published an article via its official WeChat account warning of increasing foreign espionage targeting the country’s industrial and supply chains, describing such activities as growing more covert, professional, and systematic, posing serious threats to China’s economic, technological, and data security.
The MSS highlighted a case involving the rare earth sector, which Beijing considers a strategic resource critical to advanced manufacturing and national defense. According to the article, a foreign non-ferrous metals company bribed a deputy general manager, surnamed Cheng, at a domestic rare earth firm through a Chinese intermediary employee surnamed Ye. Lured by financial gain, Cheng illegally provided seven classified state secrets to foreign parties, including details on China’s rare earth stockpiling categories, quantities, and pricing. The individuals involved were severely punished under the law. The case comes as Beijing has increasingly used rare earth export controls as a strategic tool against the United States, the European Union, and Japan since 2025.
The article also cited the case of a former semiconductor engineer surnamed Zhang, who after leaving his company violated confidentiality obligations by illegally providing core production processes and trade secrets to a foreign organization. The MSS warned this could waste years of research and development investment and weaken China’s position in the global semiconductor supply chain.
On data security, the article described a case in which a company used technical means to covertly embed itself within an e-commerce platform’s systems, stealing over one million business data records daily and illegally profiting tens of millions of yuan (approximately USD 1.4–2.8 million or more, depending on the exact figure). The MSS called this “organized, industrialized data theft” rather than simple commercial infringement.
The article concluded by urging the entire society, especially industry professionals, to remain vigilant and strengthen their awareness of confidentiality and the rule of law.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), April 23, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202604230062.aspx