Smoke poured from the courtyard of the Chinese consulate in Houston this week as employees burned confidential documents. Consulates generally perform services such as the issuance of visas and participation in cultural exchanges. But the outpost of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Houston was far from being a typical consulate.
Instead, the consulate served as a front for the CCP and a central node in the massive espionage operation that China uses to undermine the United States. This network conducts all kinds of espionage (political, defensive, industrial, academic, and commercial) to try to gain a strategic advantage over the United States by cheating and stealing.
The adversaries of the United States, including China and Russia, use their consulates to carry out all kinds of nefarious activities. For the CCP, the Houston consulate served as a base of operations to exploit commercial joint ventures for state purposes and to gain access to advanced technology, proprietary information and intellectual property to advance Beijing’s efforts to undermine the economic and national security of USA
MARTHA MACCALLUM PRESSES POMPEO: “ARE WE IN A COLD WAR WITH CHINA?”
Critically, the Houston consulate covered China’s activities in seven states, including my home state of Florida.
More from Opinion
Chinese diplomats had been involved in stealing scientific research, as well as facilitating travel to China using forged documents. The consulate had also used CCP-controlled community groups to cultivate Texas elites. And considering that this occurred in Houston, malignant Chinese activity likely involved theft and espionage related to the energy and healthcare sectors of the United States.
The Trump administration’s decision to close the consulate is correct and sends a strong message to China, Russia and other adversaries that this illegal espionage will no longer be tolerated.
This is not the first time that the Trump administration has had to deal with this type of behavior. Just last December, he was forced to expel two Chinese embassy officials on suspicion of espionage, after they were caught trying to gain access to a sensitive military facility in Virginia.
We cannot simply ignore the prolific increase in Chinese espionage and political influence operations, especially on American soil. Sometimes a hammer is required to send a message.
As consular staff members pack their bags, we must also remember that the Houston consulate was a cog in a much larger exploitation system.
Sometimes a hammer is required to send a message.
The CCP seems incapable of maintaining international relations without spying, especially on people the party claims to be its own, such as Chinese-Americans, wherever they are and in every facet of their lives.
Chinese espionage and data collection are evident throughout its diplomatic corps, from excessive visa application requirements for Chinese Americans, to exerting control over Chinese community organizations and pushing co-opted Chinese students into sensitive areas of research. .
Chinese surveillance and influence operations can serve different purposes. Some influencers are tasked with influencing members of Congress as well as state and local politicians under the auspices of diplomatic relations. Others steal trade secrets from defense contractors or in important sectors like advanced manufacturing.
The United States has tried to work productively with China to reduce these tactics and repair relations.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION BULLETIN
For example, in 2015, our two governments agreed to stop using their intelligence services to steal technology for commercial purposes. That deal lasted only weeks, and the Trump administration made it clear to Beijing that the Americans would not allow China’s covert betrayal by accusing three Chinese government-affiliated hackers of stealing economic secrets in 2017.
The message was not heard. China’s exploitation of American companies continued unabated. This week, the Justice Department accused two Chinese hackers working for the Beijing spy service of trying to steal information related to the creation of a COVID-19 vaccine.
In closing the Houston consulate, the United States noted that the status quo between the United States and China is unacceptable.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In the meantime, I will soon introduce legislation to ban Chinese companies from US capital markets if those companies are found to have engaged in espionage or human rights abuses, or if they exist to strengthen the Beijing military.
It is in everyone’s interest that the United States and China enjoy a balanced relationship in the 21st century. But that future cannot come until Beijing adheres to international norms and practices and fulfills its international commitments.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SEN. MARCO RUBIO
