The Chinese government is accused of carrying out a decade-long information theft campaign against the Federal Reserve.
The report was released on Tuesday by the Republican members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Reportedly, the FED is currently determining the policy to navigate the United States economy through the highest inflation rates in four decades.
The report also found that the communist country had been using talent plan recruitment and promises of academic positions in an attempt to gain information from the central bank.
“The Chinese government makes no secret of wanting to be the world superpower. No sector or institution is off limits, and China has shown that it will use any means necessary to achieve its goals.” The report said.
According to the report, China has been conducting the country’s campaign against the FED since 2013. The report also revealed that investigators have identified 13 “persons of interest” at eight of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks as of 2015 “based on their international travel patterns and other factors.”
In a statement released by a committee aide to CNN, “the report details five more recent case studies of China seeking sensitive information from American economists, with four of the mentioned individuals retaining their employment at the central bank.”
Moreover, in a report released by Daily Wire, an “official who had previously held positions at the People’s Bank of China and maintained other links to the Chinese monetary system was forcibly detained on four occasions during a 2019 trip to Shanghai, with Chinese officials allegedly tapping his phones and computers while threatening his family,” the report revealed.
The Chinese officials alleged that the individual had committed crimes against China. They also added that he needed to “share sensitive, non-public economic data” with the nation’s government.
However, the Federal Reserve is “not aware” of other instances of Chinese officials forcibly detaining its employees, the report revealed.
In conclusion, the report recommended passing the Safeguarding American Innovation Act which was sponsored by Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).
The Act aims to stop “foreign governments, especially China, from “stealing” American taxpayer-funded research and intellectual property” through introducing prison sentences for those individuals who “intentionally fail to disclose foreign support on federal grant applications.”
“We cannot continue to allow our adversaries to steal taxpayer-funded research and innovation to the detriment of hard-working Americans,” Portman said last year.
