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As US-China relations reach a boiling point, Washington has started to The 'weird signs' that led
screen Chinese students at airports for technology theft. Chadwick Boseman to Wakanda

When Boston Logan International Airport's announcement asked Keith Zhang to

come to the boarding desk, he thought it was a regular boarding check.

But when he saw two armed American officers expecting him there, his heart sank.

"They questioned me under the premise that I am here to steal technology," Keith
Zhang - not his real name - tells the BBC. 
Samsung gives its folding
Zhang, a 26-year-old PhD student from China, was a visiting researcher at Brown
smartphone another shot
University's department of psychological sciences for a year.

He had not expected to spend his last two hours on US soil being interrogated
about his potential ties with the Chinese Communist Party.

So what might have happened?

FBI director Christopher Wray recently said, in response to Beijing's "far-reaching

campaign" of economic espionage, the FBI is now opening a new China-related
counterintelligence case every 10 hours. The fight to 'free' the Aboriginal
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In July, Washington closed the Chinese consulate in Houston, calling it a "spy
centre".

As the US tightens its scrutiny of Chinese nationals over espionage concerns,

screening selected departing Chinese students and researchers appears to be
Washington's new measure to counter economic espionage. Some of the students'
electronic devices were taken away for further examination and not returned for
weeks.

Zhang describes the screening as "pure harassment". Thugs on planes and other protest
claims fact-checked
"If I were to steal any data or intellectual property, I could send it through cloud
storage. Taking away my laptop and phone for examination does nothing more than
harassment," Zhang says.

China's foreign ministry accuses Washington of "abusing" the judicial power to

interrogate and arrest Chinese students in the US "under fabricated allegations".

However, a series of indictments against Chinese researchers suggest the 

suspicions of US authorities have some grounds. Why this couple will not back
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In August, Haizhou Hu, a 34-year-old Chinese visiting scholar at the University of

Virginia, was arrested when he attempted to board a flight to China at Chicago
O'Hare International Airport.

The Department of Justice said "a routine screening" revealed that his laptop
contained research-related software code, which he was not authorised to possess. 'They tried to kill my mother in
The code has military applications, according to a federal indictment. front of me, twice'

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AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

America's doors are 'wide open', David Stilwell tells the BBC Chinese students face scrutiny at
US airports
Separately, the US recently captured multiple Chinese researchers who are
accused of concealing their ties with the Chinese military in visa applications. A
scientist had allegedly fled to China's consulate in San Francisco, before she was
arrested. Another Chinese researcher threw away a damaged hard drive and was
later charged with destroying evidence to obstruct an FBI investigation.

US Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell tells the BBC that, for students who
come to the US with the intent of learning, America's doors are "wide open".
The surprising truth about
"But if you are here masquerading as (students)," he says, "we have to defend drinking milk
ourselves."

Sheena Greitens, associate professor of public affairs at University of Texas,

Austin, says there's an "intensification of concerns" over technology transfer from Elsewhere on the BBC
the US to China through academic channels.
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"Given that these are investigations into espionage, it's unlikely that we'll see full
What happens to your
details for every case, but it's hard to make informed judgements on the nature of body in extreme heat?
the threat to national security based on the handful of cases we've seen made
public so far," Prof Greitens says.

Unlike Hu, Zhang was allowed to board his flight at the last minute, but he says the Most Read
airport screening was "a traumatic experience".
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He recalls the two armed officers repeatedly accused him of lying. "I was under reporter in war dead row
great pressure and almost had a mental breakdown," he says.
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Zhang did not ask for the officers' names or identities, nor did he request to speak
chord for first time in seven
to a lawyer, Brown University or the Chinese Embassy in the US. years

"I knew I had these rights but I didn't want to risk missing my flight," Zhang says.
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Boarding his flight was Zhang's absolute priority, as he was eager to go home to
distancing
reunite with his wife. They got married a year ago but have spent most of the time
apart due to his study in the US.
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During the pandemic, it is difficult to travel from the US to China, as international
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flights are curtailed sharply by both countries. Zhang spent weeks and nearly
scores winner from spot
$5,000 to secure flight tickets to his hometown Shanghai via Amsterdam.

In general, US law enforcement agents have to get a warrant to search electronic

devices, but airports are an exception. US border agents only need "reasonable
suspicion" to search travellers' electronic devices at airports.

According to the South China Morning Post US border agents carried out over
1,100 searches of Chinese nationals' electronic devices in 2019, recording a 66%
increase from the previous year.

Prof Greitens says airports are also "a choke point for the physical outflow of
information", where legal, physical and personnel infrastructure for the screening
are concentrated and where most passengers transit to depart the US.

John Demers, US Assistant Attorney General, recently said that the airport
screening is "more targeted than it may first appear".

He revealed the screening decision is based on the students' schools in China and
fields of study. Visiting scholars of an advanced scientific field and from institutions
related to the Chinese military, are more likely to be targeted.

"What we are trying to do is to write with a fine-pointed pencil, as opposed to a big

magic marker," Mr Demers said at a public think-tank event in Washington DC.

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Both Hu and Zhang received scholarships provided by the China Scholarship

Council (CSC) for their research in the US.

CSC is an organisation under China's Ministry of Education, providing financial

support for educational exchanges between China and other countries.

According to a recent research conducted by Georgetown University, CSC

sponsors around 65,000 Chinese overseas students, accounting for 7% of Chinese
nationals studying aboard. It also funds roughly the same number of foreign
students in China.

During his exchange study in America, Zhang received a monthly stipend of $1,900
(£1430) from CSC. He was also required to submit a research report every six
months, which his collaborator at Brown University would read and sign.

China's higher education and research systems are mostly state-owned. Though
not all researchers are Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members, the party could
cast a shadow of influence on research.

CCP has installed representatives and informants in education institutions, and

some universities even revised their charters to emphasize unswerving loyalty to
the party.

At the airport, Zhang told the American law enforcement officers that the CCP has
no direct influence on his research in cognitive psychology, which is "highly
theoretical". But the officers didn't seem convinced due to the government funding.

"It's normal for all governments to fund scientific research. America also funds
public universities and labs," Zhang says, "There's no way for me to convince them,
if in their views, government funding equals to the Communist Party's direct
influence on every single research project."

CSC is now under intense scrutiny in the US, as it is considered as an avenue by

which Beijing could exert influence over overseas students.

On 31 August, the University of North Texas terminated its exchange program with
15 Chinese visiting researchers receiving CSC funding, effectively revoking their
US visas. This appears to be the first case of an American university severing ties
with CSC.

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Prof Greitens expects some increased scrutiny of Chinese nationals studying

science and technology in the US, especially those who received Chinese
government funding, to continue regardless of the outcome of the US election.

"Both (Trump and Biden) administrations are likely to take the potential threat of
illegal technology transfer between the US and China very seriously," she says.

Though Zhang was impressed by the academic rigour in America and enjoyed
working with colleagues at Brown University, he says he won't consider ever visiting
the country again due to the screening experience.

"It was very scary. I felt my safety could be harmed at any time," he says.

Worrying for a gloomy prospect of US-China relations, Zhang has started to lobby
his Chinese friends in America to consider returning home.

"The New Cold War has started," he says. "There's no turning back, no matter who
is going to be America's next president."

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