Allegations of Chinese espionage will not come as a surprise to some American companies.The United ...

1. China's long history of spying on business
Allegations of Chinese espionage will not come as a surprise to some American companies.
The United States indicted five members of China's People's Liberation Army Monday, accusing
them of hacking into American companies and pilfering closely-guarded trade secrets.
The charges -- rejected by Beijing as "purely ungrounded and with ulterior purpose" -- are a
dramatic escalation in a squabble between the two countries over spying. But they will surprise few
Americans working in sensitive industries.
While many countries engage in industrial espionage, China has long been among the most
aggressive collectors of economic secrets -- both online and off, experts say.
"I can tell you they [China] are the most pervasive," Kevin Mandia, founder of cybersecurity firm
Mandiant, told CNN. "The indictment is about taking intellectual property ... it's the theft of trade
secrets, it's economic espionage."
Related story: What were China's hacker spies after?

2. China's use of economic espionage can be attributed in part to its drive to modernize the country in
recent decades, a transformation spearheaded by leaders including Deng Xiaoping.
The illicit acquisition of technology has helped China accelerate the process, bypassing problems
that would otherwise require years of research and development to resolve, analysts say.
The campaign has targeted industries from agriculture to aviation and computing. Monday's
indictment indicated that recent targets included a solar panel manufacturer, aluminum and steel
producers and a company that designs nuclear power plants.
In its quest for new technologies, China has been equally enthusiastic in securing trade secrets for
use in both military and civilian applications. And the country's intelligence services don't always use
highly trained spies to steal; some recruits are just sympathetic students and engineers.
The U.S. has brought spying charges against a handful of individuals accused of helping China since
Congress approved the Economic Espionage Act in 2006.
In one of the most notable actions, Dongfan "Greg" Chung, a naturalized American citizen who
worked on NASA's space shuttle program, was convicted in 2009 after investigators found hundreds
of thousands of sensitive papers under his California home. Prosecutors said he gave some of the
documents to Chinese officials, revealing details of military and space-related technology.
Chung, a former Boeing employee, was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.
"Giving China advanced rocket technology is not in the United States' national interest," Assistant
U.S. Attorney Greg Staples said at the time. "There is a voracious appetite for U.S. technology in
China."
An acquaintance of Chung's, Chi Mak, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for providing China with
sensitive information on U.S. ships and submarines.
In another case that highlights the breadth of China's activities, six Chinese nationals were accused
last year of trying to steal drought and pest-resistant corn seeds from fields across Iowa.
The seeds cost companies such as Dupont Pioneer, Monsanto (MON) and LG Seeds years and tens of
millions of dollars to develop.
Related story: Snowden documents show NSA hacked Chinese telecom
The Obama administration is now seeking to draw a red line between military espionage and
economic theft. Officials insist that U.S. spies do not share information with American companies.

3. "We do not do what those Chinese nationals were indicted for earlier today," White House Press
Secretary Jay Carney said. "Period."
The issue has gained traction in the 15 months since Mandiant publicly identified a prolific group of
computer hackers as members of the Chinese military.
Mandiant traced the group to Shanghai -- with some operations taking place at the headquarters of
Unit 61398, a secret division of China's military that was also named Monday by the Justice
Department.
President Obama has raised the issue with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. But his arguments
have carried less weight following revelations by Edward Snowden that U.S. agencies were
attempting to monitor Chinese telecommunications company Huawei.
Chinese officials were quick to levy charges of hypocrisy against the U.S.
"It is widely known that the U.S. has for a long time been using its advanced technology and
infrastructure to perpetrate large-scale theft of secrets and eavesdropping against foreign political
leaders, enterprises and individuals," China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement
Tuesday.
CNNMoney (Hong Kong) May 20, 2014: 7:01 AM ET
http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/20/news/china-espionage-business/