The Chinese flag flies in front of the Great Hall of the People during the “2026” two sessions held in Beijing, China on March 9, 2026.
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From recruiting American students to allegations surrounding Nvidia’s Jensen Huang affair, reports point to one of China’s intelligence agencies, the Ministry of State Security.
The opaque government agency, which has no official website other than one that supports whistleblowers, has increased its presence since 2023 as the Chinese government places greater emphasis on national security. The ministry oversees various ministries and national-level bureaus, including intelligence gathering.
Although the MSS is not the only intelligence agency of the Chinese government, the department is often named in high-profile cases. In recent years, the U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Chinese organizations and individuals associated with the MSS following hacking attempts against U.S. organizations.
The Financial Times and the New York Times reported this month that U.S. government intelligence agencies believe MSS recruited businesswoman Alice Huang to gather information about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, citing sources. The two are not related. Jensen Huang admitted to the affair over the weekend, but it remains unclear whether confidential information was shared.
Earlier this year, MSS contacted people who knew Alice Fan to find out more information about her business and connections, the FT reported on Wednesday, citing a person questioned. The FT report said it was unclear whether he was suspected of any wrongdoing, and that the MSS investigation followed news that Singapore was investigating the company in connection with allegations of chip smuggling.
Increased attention
According to research by Sheena Chestnut Greitens, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, China established the Ministry of National Security in 1983, in part to address the risks of opening up its borders to foreigners after nearly 30 years of strictly closed borders.
Greitens wrote in China Leadership Monitor last year that the MSS appears to have gained political influence under Chinese President Xi Jinping to “strengthen China’s protection against espionage and foreign infiltration.” This publication is run by Mingxin Pei, non-resident senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund.
In 2023, MSS launched a social media account on the WeChat messaging platform to raise public awareness of security issues. An article published Tuesday accused an unidentified person with a Chinese last name of fabricating allegations against a foreign organization that a colleague was a spy after learning that the colleague had secured a co-opted overseas assignment.
China’s MSS is separate from the China Cyberspace Administration and the Ministry of Public Security, whose minister Wang Xiaohong met with then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
However, these entities can work together. In September, National Security Minister Chen Yixin published a rare article in the Cyberspace Regulator’s magazine on the need to improve the governance of artificial intelligence and prevent related security risks. The article comes just as prominent US AI executives are warning of the risks of uncontrolled development of the technology.
According to official Chinese statements, Mr. Chen met with Vietnamese and Lao nationals in Beijing this year.
focus on technology
Matt Pearl, director of the strategic technology program at the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, previously told CNBC that the Chinese government is increasingly targeting the US high-tech sector to close the gap in artificial intelligence capabilities.
A Silicon Valley University newspaper reported last year that MSS employees posed as Stanford University students for years to collect sensitive information.
The report also cited “Stanford experts on Chinese intelligence-gathering activities” who requested anonymity, saying the MSS used civilians as a way to “quietly extract the know-how behind American innovation.”
Other cases, although not necessarily directly related to MSS, also reinforce this trend.
In June, US-based cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike announced that Chinese companies accounted for nearly half of state-sponsored intrusions targeting technology companies, particularly AI assets, in the 12 months ending March 31.
Brian Abbott, founder and CEO of U.S.-based startup Agentic Capital, previously told CNBC that he believed the employees he hired from China last year were agents in Beijing and that the company deliberately changed its code and website content to prevent it from raising venture capital funding.
The person was fired earlier this year, Abbott said, and the company filed a complaint with the FBI. CNBC could not independently verify this allegation or its connection to MSS.
Separately, US investigators believe a former US Federal Reserve official passed information about the central bank to Chinese government spies.
