US Reorganizes Expert Group Monitoring China in Various Countries

Tony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The United States is reorganizing related personnel and organizations to strengthen its monitoring of China's activities worldwide.

Foreign Policy, a U.S. diplomatic magazine, reported on the 21st (local time) that "the State Department plans to increase the number of personnel in the China division of the East Asia and Pacific Affairs Bureau by 20 to 30 people, expanding what is called the 'China House'."

The additional personnel will be deployed not only at the State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., but also at U.S. embassies around the world.

A State Department official stated, "The number of personnel tracking China's climate change response efforts and the status of securing emerging technologies will also increase."

This move by the State Department aims to concentrate experts working on China-related tasks from various federal agencies in one place. Just as the government operates joint programs across departments in the counterterrorism field, it intends to manage the China-related sector in an integrated manner.

The fact that other U.S. government departments have already begun checks and surveillance due to China's security risks also accelerated the launch of the China House.

The Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury are deploying personnel to block Chinese espionage operations and enhance the effectiveness of sanctions imposed on China. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is also reportedly considering plans to launch a special unit to strengthen counterintelligence activities with China in mind.

Foreign Policy analyzed that "the State Department appears to be imitating the Department of Defense's organizational restructuring policy, which is recruiting intelligence analysts related to China."

However, there are also concerns within the State Department that overestimating China's influence could lead to a shortsighted perspective that unnecessarily escalates tensions between the U.S. and China.