The revised Counter-espionage Law takes effect
On 1 July 2023, China's revised Counter-Espionage Law took effect, dramatically broadening the definition of spying to cover any vaguely defined national interests and granting state security organs unchecked powers over citizens and foreign businesses alike.
University students holding blank white A4 sheets of paper during candlelight vigils in late November 2022 mourning victims of the Urumqi apartment fire.
After a fatal apartment fire in locked-down Urumqi on 24 November 2022, citizens and students across Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Chengdu, and dozens of campuses held blank white sheets protesting three years of compulsory Zero-COVID lockdowns and censorship; within two weeks the central authorities abruptly dismantled Zero-COVID controls.
What happened
01On 26 April 2023, the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress passed a heavily revised Counter-Espionage Law, broadening the definition of espionage from state secrets to any unspecified documents or data related to national security.Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), Caitlin Campbell, 'China's Revised Counter-Espionage Law', CRS In Focus IF12450, 14 July 2023.
documented02Taking effect on 1 July 2023, the statute granted state security agents vast discretionary powers to inspect personal electronic devices, examine digital networks, and impose exit bans on targeted individuals without court orders.Source: MERICS, Katja Drinhausen, 'China's updated Anti-Espionage Law expands state control and risks for foreigners', MERICS China Briefing, 4 May 2023.
supported03Around the law's passage, security forces raided the offices of prominent international due diligence and consulting firms including Mintz Group, Bain & Company, and Capvision, detaining staff and seizing computer equipment.Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Scott Kennedy, 'Beijing's National Security Crackdown Hits Global Consultancies', CSIS Commentary, 22 May 2023.
supported04The Ministry of State Security launched a public social media presence and nationwide propaganda campaigns, encouraging everyday citizens, students, and employees to report suspected foreign spies for cash bounties.Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), 2024 Annual Report, section 'Civil Society, National Security, and Public Mobilization'.
supported05Foreign business associations reported widespread alarm across multinational corporations, as the absence of clear definitions made routine market research, commercial audits, and data sharing vulnerable to espionage allegations.Source: MERICS, Jens Bastian and others, 'Navigating China's national security state: European business sentiment', MERICS Report, November 2023.
supported06The US Congressional-Executive Commission on China concluded that the onerous counterespionage statute effectively criminalized standard information-gathering and chilled international civil society engagement.Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), 2024 Annual Report, Executive Summary.
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Lives
What it meant for the people it happened to, in their own words or in what was written down about them.
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Why it mattered
The enactment of China's revised Counter-Espionage Law on 1 July 2023 marked the formal codification of total national security into daily economic and civic life. Under the overarching doctrine that national security forms the bedrock of national rejuvenation, the statute erased the vital boundary between ordinary commercial intelligence, academic inquiry, and hostile foreign subversion. By expanding the legal definition of espionage beyond classified state secrets to encompass any unspecified materials concerning national interests, the law effectively made all data collection subject to retroactive criminalization at the discretion of the security apparatus. Sweeping police powers, coupled with aggressive public informant campaigns and raids on international due diligence firms, created an atmosphere of pervasive paranoia. This weaponization of vague legal standards fundamentally conflicted with Beijing's simultaneous efforts to attract foreign investment, demonstrating how ideological control and internal security imperatives consistently override economic rationality in the post-Twentieth Congress era.
How we know
The revised law dramatically expanded the definition of espionage from state secrets to any materials related to national security, leaving the term undefined.Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), Caitlin Campbell, 'China's Revised Counter-Espionage Law', CRS In Focus IF12450, 14 July 2023.In the source’s words: “broadens the scope of what constitutes espionage from 'state secrets' to any 'documents, data, materials, or items related to national security and interests'”Open the page ↗ · Read 9 October 2026 · Logged 9 October 2026
documentedThe law granted state security agencies broad administrative powers to search electronic devices, inspect property, and impose exit bans without judicial warrants.Source: MERICS, Katja Drinhausen, 'China's updated Anti-Espionage Law expands state control and risks for foreigners', MERICS China Briefing, 4 May 2023.In the source’s words: “grants enforcement authorities broad administrative discretion to inspect electronic equipment and impose exit bans”Open the page ↗ · Read 9 October 2026 · Logged 9 October 2026
supportedChinese authorities raided prominent foreign due diligence and consulting firms including Mintz Group, Bain & Company, and Capvision around the passage of the law.Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Scott Kennedy, 'Beijing's National Security Crackdown Hits Global Consultancies', CSIS Commentary, 22 May 2023.In the source’s words: “security forces raided the Beijing offices of Mintz Group and questioned staff at Bain & Company and Capvision”Open the page ↗ · Read 9 October 2026 · Logged 9 October 2026
supportedThe Ministry of State Security mobilized the public through social media and financial bounties to report suspected spies, fostering widespread societal vigilance.Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), 2024 Annual Report, section 'Civil Society, National Security, and Public Mobilization'.In the source’s words: “launched a public WeChat account to mobilize everyday citizens to join counter-espionage efforts with cash rewards”Open the page ↗ · Read 9 October 2026 · Logged 9 October 2026
supportedThe legal vagueness severely chilled foreign business confidence, paralyzing commercial due diligence and accelerating foreign direct investment outflows.Source: MERICS, Jens Bastian and others, 'Navigating China's national security state: European business sentiment', MERICS Report, November 2023.In the source’s words: “unclear boundaries between legitimate market research and illegal espionage caused profound uncertainty for foreign investors”Open the page ↗ · Read 9 October 2026 · Logged 9 October 2026
supportedThe US Congressional-Executive Commission on China reported that a revised Counterespionage Law, which it called onerous, took effect in July 2023.Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), 2024 Annual Report, Executive Summary.In the source’s words: “the onerous Counterespionage Law that took effect in July 2023”Open the page ↗ · Read 5 October 2026 · Logged 5 October 2026
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