Chinese spies still targeting the United States.

In a little-noticed case, in 2005 chipmaker Intel filed suit in a Chinese court against Shenzhen Donjin Communication Technology Co., Ltd. Intel accused the Chinese firm of stealing its technology. The case was one more manifestation of the tidal wave of Chinese espionage efforts aimed at the United States and U.S. hightech firms.

Some evidence of the scale and impact of Chinese espionage activities can be seen in the case against 66-year-old engineer Chi Mak. According to the Bloomberg news service, "Mak, his wife, brother, sister-in-law and nephew were indicted on charges of conspiring to export U.S. defense articles to China's government."

According to prosecutors, Mak and his family loaded disks with information on submarine propulsion systems copied from computers at California-based Power Paragon--a division of L3 Communications, Mak's employer. Prosecutors also allege that the disks contained sensitive information on the Navy's proposed DD(X) warships.

U.S. officials acknowledge that China continues an intense campaign of intelligence gathering in the United States. According to Bloomberg reporter Jeff Bliss, "U.S. officials say there's overwhelming evidence that China has a well-thought-out plan to employ thousands of professional spies and amateurs to get sensitive U.S. military and business data."