{"slug": "china-urges-us-to-stop-all-spying-or-face-retaliation-slams-gangster-logic", "title": "China urges US to ‘stop all spying’ or face retaliation, slams ‘gangster logic’", "summary": "China's Ministry of Commerce on Friday demanded the United States \"stop all spying\" on Chinese companies and warned it has \"firm resolve and abundant means\" to retaliate, after CIA deputy director Michael Ellis said in a Tuesday speech that Chinese firms were \"legitimate targets\" for espionage in AI, semiconductors and biotechnology. The ministry statement accused Washington of exposing \"its gangster logic of hegemony in broad daylight,\" and the dispute is expected to feature on the agenda ahead of Xi Jinping's White House visit. The exchange marks a new front in US-China rivalry over AI and chips.", "body_md": "# China urges US to ‘stop all spying’ or face retaliation, slams ‘gangster logic’\n\nCommerce ministry retort follows CIA official’s defence of spying on China’s AI and chip sectors just weeks ahead of US visit by Xi\n\n[Phoebe Zhang](/author/phoebe-zhang)in Shenzhen\n\n[espionage activities](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3365817/dual-defence-betrayal-china-reveals-rare-case-executive-spying-two-countries?module=inline&pgtype=article)” targeting Chinese companies, warning that it had “firm resolve and abundant means” to retaliate after a senior CIA official defended spying on China’s artificial intelligence (AI) and chip sectors.\n\n[new battleground](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3367242/ai-fight-shadows-final-preparations-xi-jinpings-white-house-visit?module=inline&pgtype=article)in the US-China rivalry – are expected to be high on the agenda.\n\nThe ministry’s remarks late on Friday were in direct response to statements made earlier in the week by Michael Ellis, the deputy director of the US Central Intelligence Agency.\n\nIn a rare public speech on Tuesday, Ellis revealed that the CIA was expanding its intelligence work on China, suggesting that Chinese companies were “legitimate targets” for espionage in areas such as AI, semiconductors and biotechnology.\n\nFriday’s brief Chinese ministry statement said the US had “exposed its gangster logic of hegemony in broad daylight”, which China firmly opposed.\n\nEconomic competition was a regular commercial activity, and those in advantage relied on technology, talent and innovation, said the statement, which was attributed to a ministry representative.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/china-urges-us-to-stop-all-spying-or-face-retaliation-slams-gangster-logic", "canonical_source": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3367300/china-urges-us-stop-all-spying-or-face-retaliation-slams-gangster-logic?utm_source=rss_feed", "published_at": "2026-09-12 10:19:16+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-12 10:35:20.132528+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["China Ministry of Commerce", "United States", "Central Intelligence Agency", "Michael Ellis", "Xi Jinping", "White House"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/china-urges-us-to-stop-all-spying-or-face-retaliation-slams-gangster-logic", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/china-urges-us-to-stop-all-spying-or-face-retaliation-slams-gangster-logic.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/china-urges-us-to-stop-all-spying-or-face-retaliation-slams-gangster-logic.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/china-urges-us-to-stop-all-spying-or-face-retaliation-slams-gangster-logic.jsonld"}}