Deep distrust of Russia towards China. A secret intelligence document has leaked

Despite the official statements of Vladimir Putin about the inseparable friendship with China, the Russian Security Service perceives Beijing as a potential opponent, “New York Times said on Saturday, citing the secret document of the Russian intelligence obtained by the editors.

The daily showed a document to representatives of six western interviews who considered him authentic. According to it in the Federal Security Service (FSB) there is a secret faculty dealing with China's threat.

As stated in the note obtained by “NYT”, Chinese intelligence services actively try to recruit Russian agents, gain access to secret military technology and attract disappointed Russian scientists.

The authors of the document believe that China is spying on the Russian army in Ukraine to study western weapons and tactics. In addition, according to FSB, Chinese academic circles “prepare the ground for territorial claims” towards Russia, and Chinese intelligence services conduct recognition in the Arctic, using scientific institutes and mining companies for this purpose.

The document shows that Russian officers are trying to reduce the risk of Chinese intelligence without causing “negative consequences for bilateral relations.” The officers were warned to avoid any public “mention of Chinese intelligence services as a potential enemy.”

The note probably arising in 2023 shows that when Russia attacked Ukraine, which consumed most of its intelligence resources, China intensified actions. Russian officials, experts, journalists and businessmen who have access to the circles of power were aimed at Beijing. In response, FSB told its employees to take action to neutralize the threat – in particular the warning of Russian citizens who closely cooperate with China, about the risk and attempts of Beijing to gain access to strategically important information.

The officers also received the order to track users of the Chinese Wechat messenger, including the use of hacker devices and analysis of data obtained using special software, which is available to Russian special services.

“NYT” noted that although the document is dominated by fear of increasingly more powerful Beijing, it is not clear how common these fears are in the Russian establishment. The American daily noticed that even allied countries regularly spy on each other. “There is no such thing as friendly intelligence services,” emphasized Paul Kolbe, a scientist, and earlier a CIA employee.

The newspaper reminded that although China has a world -class scientists, their army has not fought war since the month of conflict with Vietnam in 1979. The result is anxiety in China about how their army will cope with Western weapons in conflict on Taiwan or the South China Sea. “Particularly interesting for Beijing are information about the methods of fighting drones, modernization of their software and methods of counteracting new types of western weapons” – assessed the authors of the document.

Despite the suspicion of espionage and potential territorial ambitions of Beijing China, they remain Russia's main economic partner in the face of the pressure of sanctions from the West. This is the support of Beijing – in the form of purchases of crude oil, microprocessors, software and double use components – Moscow has largely helped to relieve the blow of international isolation after Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine in 2022 (PAP)

OS/ KARE/