The Trump administration’s decision to close the Chinese Chinese consulate in Houston on Wednesday came after years of an FBI intelligence meeting that showed it was a Chinese eavesdropping point in the United States, and President Donald Trump has been briefed on the activities of the consulate since shortly after taking office, US officials tell NBC News.
Multiple US officials say the Chinese government has long used the Houston consulate to steal valuable medical research, and that it was involved in attempts to infiltrate the oil and natural gas industries, and that these concerns had been well reported to the president. .
Current and former United States law enforcement officials say the consulate is well fortified, hardened to avoid United States surveillance, and was a high-tech communications center to coordinate and execute various espionage operations.
On Wednesday, the United States government ordered China to “cease all operations and events” at the consulate.
Senator Mark Warner, D.-Va., a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Katy Tur of NBC News that he would not speak about the specific intelligence behind Wednesday’s shutdown. “But I can tell you for the past two years,” said Warner, “I and other members of the intelligence committee have been holding classified briefings with business and academic leaders about the Chinese Communist Party’s concerted efforts to steal our intellectual property.” , steal it from companies, steal it from universities, be on better guard. “
Senator Warner suggested that today’s action was fueled by the FBI and its intelligence. Current and former federal law enforcement officials applauded the move to close the consulate because they believed it was a strong message to be delivered to the Chinese government.
On Tuesday night, hours before the news of the consulate’s closure was announced, neighbors noticed and recorded small container fires in the consulate’s internal courtyard. The Houston Fire Department responded and said in a statement: “Building occupants denied access to firefighters … under an international agreement, access to property can only be obtained with consent.”
In a fire at the consulate almost exactly three years ago, the city’s fire department was allowed to put out a fire, and Chinese officials praised it in a press release.
As NBC News previously reported, the Houston consulate, along with other Chinese consulates and its Washington embassy, has also been involved in “mask diplomacy” during the COVID-19 pandemic. With China facing criticism of the coronavirus pandemic, its diplomatic missions in the US went on the offensive, organizing donations of medical supplies and food to communities large and small.
Demonstrations of generosity towards struggling communities were routinely accompanied by ribbon-cutting events with local officials, covered extensively by the Chinese state media in multiple languages and displayed by the Chinese consulates and government on social media.
Current and former law enforcement officials say the Chinese government and consulate’s focus on oil and natural gas businesses, which are rooted in Houston, was linked to efforts to understand why those companies were so adept at finding oil fields and locations. drilling. across the globe.
The FBI in Houston has conducted investigations into the efforts of Chinese citizens to channel advanced research from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston back to China.
The FBI’s efforts focused in part on Keping Xie, a professor of gastroenterology at the medical center and a member of the Chinese government’s scientific recruiting program called “One Thousand Talents,” which has been linked to espionage efforts in the US Presentations and multiple US officials informed on the matter.
Xie was arrested on an unrelated charge in 2018, a charge that has since been dropped, and his lawyer told NBC News at the time that his client is unaware of an investigation related to the espionage.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R.-Tex., Chairman of the House Security Committee of the House of Representatives, said he had been briefed on the investigation. “This is a systematic effort by the Chinese government to enter our medical facilities, our research development facilities, academics as well,” McCaul said.
In April 2019, three out of five additional scientists identified by federal authorities as involved in efforts to steal the American investigation on behalf of China at MD Anderson were also expelled by the institution. A fourth scientist resigned before the conclusion of the investigation, and the fifth was disciplined by the center.
The MD Anderson Cancer Center moved to fire the scientists, whose names were not disclosed, after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) contacted at least 55 medical research institutions to report the names of the suspected investigators. to share federally funded research with China or other foreigners. governments, the NIH said.
“When NIH notified MD Anderson of concerns with specific individuals within its institution, the university took immediate steps to remedy the problem,” the NIH said in a statement.
A NBC News review of highly redacted MD Anderson research reports shows they include detailed payment information from Chinese universities and diagrams documenting how the Thousand Talents program participates in a quid-pro-quo scheme that compensates doctors for intellectual property. .
A report said the researcher found “compelling evidence” that an MD Anderson doctor also had a paid position at a Chinese university paying a monthly allowance of $ 30,000 RMB, or $ 4,322.
Reports show that MD Anderson, after gaining access to some of the investigators’ email accounts, uncovered documents showing consulting agreements signed with Chinese entities.
Shortly before Xie was charged in August 2018, the Houston FBI field office held an unprecedented public session with the leaders of Houston’s medical, scientific, and academic institutions.
In announcing the briefing, the office said: “The FBI works closely with private partners and government agencies to ensure that federally funded research grants are protected and protected against unscrupulous foreign enemies.” The press release did not cite a specific case.
At the briefing, Dr. Peter Pisters, director of the MD Anderson Cancer Center, said: “We have an obligation to the people of Texas, and to all people facing a cancer diagnosis, to do everything possible to protect our resources and safely advance our mission to end cancer. “
A 2018 FBI unclassified memorandum obtained by NBC News says: “Chinese talent shows pose a serious threat to American companies and universities through economic espionage and theft of intellectual property.”
