Xi Jinping became the leader of the Chinese Communist Party in late 2012 and became president a few months later. After that the United States lost its network of informants in China. Beijing intelligence agents neutralized Chinese informants working for the CIA, nearly crippling the American intelligence network in China.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) spies on every country in the world and is the biggest weapon of its foreign policy in dealing with other countries. But about 10 years ago, Chinese informants working for the CIA were neutralized by Beijing’s intelligence agents, nearly crippling the US intelligence network in China. More than 20 people who provided intelligence to the United States at that time were executed or imprisoned, including some senior Chinese officials.
The CIA is now facing a lot of difficulty in gathering intelligence in China, due to which America is able to get only limited news about anything happening between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his inner circle regarding the big issue like Taiwan. According to a former senior US intelligence official, they now have no real way of understanding the plans and intentions of the Chinese leadership, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The CIA spends $100 billion a year, but now it is increasing its budget and equipping spies with expensive equipment. Former US officials said that in the early 2000s, CIA analysts began issuing warnings about China’s economic growth and military ambitions. The secret report sent to the White House, the State Department and other agencies outlined modernization plans for the People’s Liberation Army, the upcoming expansion of the Chinese Navy and Beijing’s goal of establishing overseas bases.