Source: Agence France Presse English Wire, 24/5/1994

China has developed the most pervasive spy network in the United States,
drawing on tens of thousands of Chinese diplomats, students and visitors,
according to a new book written by a US intelligence officer.

The book, unusual in that it was written by an active intelligence official,
said US agencies were ill-equipped to deal with Chinese spying, having
devoted much of their resources to Russia and the former Soviet Union.

"The United States and other Western industrialized nations are woefully
unprepared" for dealing with Chinese espionage, said the book by Nick
Eftimiades, a China specialist with the Defense Intelligence Agency.

"There is no question that (China's) espionage activities are more pervasive
than what we have seen from any other country," he said in the book.

Eftimiades, whose manuscript was reviewed by the government to ensure that
no secrets were revealed, said a favorite technique of China is to plant
agents in the United States for 10 years or more before using them for
intelligence-gathering. These spies are known as "fish at the bottom of the
ocean."

The book says Chinese intelligence uses the 11,500 diplomats as well as the
15,000 Chinese students who arrive in the United States each year and
hundreds of thousands of Chinese-Americans.

The Chinese are especially interested in US military technology, trade and
foreign policy trends and counteracting dissident groups in China.

The book "Chinese Intelligence Operations," said China took advantage of the
policy of greater US openness to China by former president George Bush to
step up intelligence in the United States.

Eftimiades said US counterintelligence lacks the linguistic skills and other
resources needed to combat Chinese spying, which was virtually ignored
during the Cold War. He also maintained that Chinese intelligence suffers
from sloppiness and poor organization, but said some of the shortcomings are
compensated by sheer volume.