ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an accurate picture of the structure, operations, and methodologies of China's intelligence services. It notes that there is a tendency among people to view foreign intelligence activities in terms of spies with superhuman attributes engaging in daily life-and-death struggles. Like much of the PRC government, China's intelligence services just do not work — or at least not very well. Virtually anyone who has come into contact with the Chinese bureaucracy can attest to its many limitations. The handicap of Western intelligence services stems from a limited base of knowledge about China's language, government, and culture. The significance of China's strategic intelligence objectives can be seen in geopolitical and military terms. In essence, concern about China's clandestine intelligence activities centers on the premise that there is a fundamental difference between protecting one's national security through espionage and using it as a military or economic force multiplier.
