A major new report is exposing Chinese spies infiltrating one of America’s top universities. The Stanford Review published an exposé last week, revealing that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has embedded spies at Stanford University as part of a far-reaching intelligence-gathering operation aimed at collecting low-level data on research — particularly in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence — and piecing together a far more significant whole.

“For years, concerns about Chinese espionage have quietly persisted at Stanford. Throughout our investigation, professors, students, and researchers readily recounted their experiences of Chinese spying, yet they declined to speak publicly,” the report stated, observing that both students and professors were often afraid of retaliation — either from the CCP or from Stanford elites, on the grounds of supposed racial profiling — for speaking on the subject. The report continued, “It is this pervasive silence that has compelled us to write. After interviewing multiple anonymous Stanford faculty, students, and China experts, we can confirm that the CCP is orchestrating a widespread intelligence-gathering campaign at Stanford. In short, there are Chinese spies at Stanford.”

The CCP relies heavily on “non-traditional collection” tactics at universities like Stanford, the report said, using Chinese law to pressure or coerce Chinese nationals studying at Stanford to collect and report sensitive information. “The aim of non-traditional collectors isn’t necessarily to steal classified documents but rather to quietly extract the know-how behind American innovation. This includes conclusions from Stanford research projects, methodologies, software, lab workflows, collaborative structures, and even communication channels,” the report stated.

In many cases, Chinese nationals studying at Stanford are legally required by Chinese law to collect data and report it back to CCP “handlers,” who will regularly meet with students. The report noted that some of the over 1,100 Chinese nationals currently studying at Stanford “are actively reporting to the Chinese Communist Party.” The report added, “Students engaged in sensitive scientific research, especially in fields like AI and robotics, are those most often targeted.”

Some Chinese nationals only report back to the CCP “the bare minimum of sensitive research information,” while others “fully cooperate and act opportunistically to maximize their collected data,” the report related, noting that the CCP-controlled Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) threatens to revoke scholarship funds for students who do not comply, and often awards scholarships on the basis of a CCP loyalty test. Students are told that their family members will face financial penalties — or worse — if information is not collected and reported back. “Chinese nationals with family members in China are coerced into sharing sensitive information with the most harrowing of punishments on their families if they refuse to do so,” the report affirmed.

The CSC also “requires students to regularly submit ‘Situation Reports’ to Chinese diplomatic missions about their research.” The report recounted a story of a Chinese national being unavailable to meet with his professor and, upon being asked why, responding, “You know why.” The professor reported that the student had a meeting scheduled with his CCP handler. In other cases, CCP agents who have no affiliation with Stanford whatsoever will pose as students in order to befriend other students — typically those studying in math, science, engineering, or technology fields — and attempt to gain information from those students. One CPP agent, posing as a non-existent Stanford student named Charles Chen, even tried to convince real Stanford students to take a trip to Beijing — and offered to cover all expenses. An investigation launched by authorities concluded that “Charles Chen was likely an agent of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), tasked with identifying sympathetic Stanford students and gathering intelligence.”

According to a study conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), China carried out over 220 espionage campaigns against the U.S. between 2000 and 2023. “It should be noted that the incidents of Chinese espionage far outnumber those by any other country, even Russia,” CSIS noted. The organization further observed, “It is worth noting that while nationality is a predictive factor for espionage, ethnicity is not. Chinese nationals who come to the US to work or study are a fertile ground for recruitment. Often they intend to return to China or have close family members resident in China, making them more susceptible to coercion.”

The Stanford Review’s report pointed out that exposing and preventing CCP espionage has largely “been silenced due to widespread accusations of racism and academic repression.” The report stated that “the status quo of branding those who discuss this issue as racist must end.” It added, “Ethnicity should not be used as a basis for investigation, nor should fears of racism enable the flourishing of a CCP-sponsored effort to harvest critical technology.”