Opinion

Chinese espionage steals $600 billion from US firms yearly. It’s time for government to act

The goal isn't just to steal from individual firms but to pilfer entire industries, says former CIA officer

By Daniel Hoffman Fox News

Published May 16, 2026 8:00am EDT

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Timed to the Beijing summit, I caught up with my friend and former CIA colleague Tom Lyons, who is the co-founder of the 2430 Group, which advises private sector businesses on strategies to counter China's ubiquitous espionage and unfair trade practices.   

Powered by the most innovative free market economy on the planet, the U.S. has become too easy a mark for China's ruthless theft of our intellectual property. China steals upwards of $600 billion annually from U.S. companies. Lyons, who testified during a Senate Judiciary hearing in April, assesses that the amount of theft is actually much higher because most firms never detect espionage and most of those who do, do not report it out of concern for reputational damage and shareholder distress.

For companies that do wish to pursue legal recourse, the cost of litigation can range into the millions of dollars. And to make matters even worse, if the criminal enterprise is based in Beijing, then there would be no chance of collecting any compensation. China does not enforce U.S. court........

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