Xi Jinping

China
In Europe, Beijing turns to 'lawfare' to intimidate opponents

While China is using strong-arm tactics to sever ties between Hong Kong and Taiwan, its strategy in Europe is undergoing a profound change. Beijing has realised that the best way to silence criticism there is not through physical threats, but through legal action.

Subscribers only Operations 23.12.2025

British academic publisher Taylor & Francis was forced to publish a retraction following legal proceedings initiated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The Agencies' Gazette
US-Mexico cooperation, SISSE and security alerts, Westminster anger, Beijing vs. Shen Yun dance troupe

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community.

United StatesState Department seeks to strengthen cooperation with Mexico in fight against cartels

FranceSISSE handled 750 security alerts in 2025

United KingdomMilitary intelligence overhaul sparks anger and discontent in Parliament

ChinaBeijing's offensive against Shen Yun in Europe

Subscribers only 22.12.2025

Spy Way of Life | Germany, Switzerland, United States
Intelligence Online's spy gift list for the festive season

Across the globe, after long months of hushed conversations and quiet meetings in iconic locations, spies are now also busy looking for holiday gifts. Intelligence Online has unearthed a selection of tradecraft goodies, from pop culture spy gear to big ticket items.

Subscribers only Contractors 19.12.2025

Intelligence Online's 2025 selection of festive gifts.

Deep Dive | UAE
Emirati spymaster's secret plans to unravel mysteries of human genetics

Tahnoon bin Zayed, AI master strategist (4/4): Abu Dhabi has gone all-in in the race for global AI supremacy, from oil to healthcare and security. In this fourth episode, Intelligence Online looks at Emirati AI-fuelled genomics research.

Subscribers only Cybersecurity, Back-door diplomacy 19.12.2025

Tahnoon bin Zayed, AI master strategist (4/4).

China, Europe
EU-China relations reach new low as Beijing opts for bypass strategy

The exclusion of Ursula von der Leyen from Emmanuel Macron's recent trip to China raised hackles in Europe, but it is only the first visible sign of a much graver problem. Relations between Brussels and Beijing have deteriorated significantly, mirroring the current situation between China and Japan.

Subscribers only Back-door diplomacy 19.12.2025

The European Union's ambassador to China Jorge Toledo.

China, Hong Kong, Taiwan
Beijing strives to sunder academic ties between Hong Kong and Taiwan

Obsessed with the risk of ‘subversive connections', the Guoanbu is behind recent intimidation tactics aimed at severing ties between academic institutions in Hong Kong and Taiwan. In early December, Hong Kong academics were strongly dissuaded from travelling to Taipei.

Subscribers only Back-door diplomacy 18.12.2025

Hong Kong academics were discouraged from attending an event organised on 4 and 5 December 2025 at the Institute of Sociology of Academia Sinica in Taipei.

China, Hong Kong
Bauhinia College, Xi Jinping's laboratory for dousing Hong Kong's political ardour

Despite the landslide victory of its candidates in the recent legislative elections in Hong Kong, Beijing fears street protests. To counter this, the central government is transforming its think-tank in Shenzhen, Bauhinia College, into a strategic observation post.

Subscribers only 17.12.2025

The Wang Fuk Court towers, ravaged by a fire that killed more than 160 people in late November in Hong Kong.

China, European Union, France
How Beijing turned down EU's von de Leyen on French president's recent China trip

Paris had hoped the EU commission chief would accompany the French president to China earlier this month. Beijing turned down its request a few days before, and has been criticising the EU behind closed doors ever since, breaking with China's relatively pro-European stance of the last few decades.

Subscribers only Back-door diplomacy 16.12.2025

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The Agencies' Gazette
US health intelligence, French intel report, China-Japan rivalry, Tracfin

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community.

United StatesRobert Kennedy Jr looking to boost health ministry's intel

FranceParliamentary intelligence delegation report published in Q1 of 2026

ChinaRethinking Ryukyu: Beijing ropes in academics to push archipelago's independence

FranceTracfin interested in humint

Subscribers only 15.12.2025

China, Europe
Western researchers facing intimidation by state security spies

A new crackdown on foreign ideas is underway. Along with Xi Jinping's radical plans for safeguarding China's internet from Western values, foreign academics are also being targeted through increased surveillance and some unannounced visits by Guoanbu spies to their hotel rooms.

Subscribers only Agencies, Back-door diplomacy 09.12.2025

Chinese President Xi Jinping talks with students in the library of Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) in southern China, on 19 December 2024.

Spymaster | China
Xu Youming, the military intelligence chief who survives purges

As purges decimate China's military leadership, the head of military intelligence Xu Youming is weathering the storm. The quintessential shadow technocrat, who is unfailingly loyal, is Xi Jinping's indispensable eye on Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific.

Subscribers only Defence 05.12.2025

China, France
While Macron is in China, Beijing sends Xinjiang delegation to Paris

As the French president landed in Beijing, a Chinese delegation arrived in Paris to promote the official line of a "return to normal" in the Uyghur region, just as a political crackdown is decimating the upper echelons of power in Urumqi.

Subscribers only Back-door diplomacy 03.12.2025

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at Beijing International Airport on 3 December 2025.

Taiwan
Taipei lagging behind Beijing in geospatial intelligence

Taiwan's launch of a new Earth observation satellite appears to be a hollow success. The country is still heavily dependent on US and European imagery to monitor its Chinese neighbour.

Subscribers only Defence, Space 02.12.2025

China, Europe
CCP ramps up anti-corruption drive abroad

Pursuing its efforts to clamp down on corruption, Beijing has signed a flurry of extradition and judicial cooperation agreements in Hungary, Serbia, Zambia, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru. The CPP's goal is to prosecute its elites on the run and dissidents in exile.

Subscribers only Operations, Back-door diplomacy 28.11.2025

Chinese Premier Li Qiang holds talks with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in Lusaka, Zambia, 20 November 2025.

Spotlight | China, France, Taiwan
Beijing's invisible hand stifles Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China

The annual IPAC meeting in Brussels earlier this month was marked by the discreet appearance of Taiwan's vice-president. Despite this high-profile surprise, the gathering mainly confirmed China's ability to stifle pro-Taipei and pro-Hong Kong discussions in Africa, but also in Paris.

Subscribers only Information wars, Back-door diplomacy 26.11.2025

Taiwan Vice-President Hsiao Bi-khim in Keelung, Taiwan, on 8 September 2025.

China, India
China's 'salami slicing' strategy squeezes India on Himalayan border

China, leveraging its growing dominance, appears to have got its way in its long-running border dispute with India. Combining incremental gains on the ground with a calculated legal and administrative push, Beijing has effectively imposed its terms.

Subscribers only Back-door diplomacy 20.11.2025

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tianjin, northern China, on 31 August 2025.

China
China's Central Military Commission gets complete overhaul

The first post-plenum propaganda meeting convened last week by the new vice-chairmen of the commission reveals a landscape undergoing a complete overhaul: ongoing purges, frozen appointments and an internal power struggle in which Xi Jinping remains the silent arbiter.

Subscribers only Defence 17.11.2025

Zhang Youxia in Beijing on 4 March 2025.

The Agencies' Gazette
DGSE photos, US farmland, Frontex stress test results, China's London envoy

Appointments, financial results, new contracts: every Wednesday, we report on events both big and small that matter in the global corporate intelligence community.

FranceDGSE photo album raises eyebrows at trial of service's ex-boss

United StatesIntelligence to help stop China buying farmland

BelgiumFrontex tougher on Brussels than Paris

China/UKAmbassador's return highlights Taiwan urgency

Subscribers only 17.11.2025

China, Europe
China sees EU call for Hong Kong students as springboard for United Front revival

The European Union's call for more Hong Kong students to come and study is a tactical boon for the Chinese Communist Party's politburo. With Xi Jinping insisting on reasserting his United Front, the influx of students offers a low-cost way to test influence tactics.

Subscribers only Back-door diplomacy 13.11.2025

Chinese President Xi Jinping, 12 November 2025, Beijing.

Japan
Spymaster Kazuya Hara tasked with creating Tokyo's intelligence coordination agency

The new Japanese prime minister immediately tasked the director of the powerful CIRO with setting up a separate agency for merging intelligence. But time is short, and the new government's coalition fragile.

Subscribers only Agencies 12.11.2025

Donald Trump

CIA

FSB

People's Liberation Army

DGSE

China In Europe, Beijing turns to 'lawfare' to intimidate opponents

The Agencies' Gazette US-Mexico cooperation, SISSE and security alerts, Westminster anger, Beijing vs. Shen Yun dance troupe

United StatesState Department seeks to strengthen cooperation with Mexico in fight against cartels

FranceSISSE handled 750 security alerts in 2025

United KingdomMilitary intelligence overhaul sparks anger and discontent in Parliament

ChinaBeijing's offensive against Shen Yun in Europe

Spy Way of Life | Germany, Switzerland, United States Intelligence Online's spy gift list for the festive season

Deep Dive | UAE Emirati spymaster's secret plans to unravel mysteries of human genetics

China, Europe EU-China relations reach new low as Beijing opts for bypass strategy

China, Hong Kong, Taiwan Beijing strives to sunder academic ties between Hong Kong and Taiwan

China, Hong Kong Bauhinia College, Xi Jinping's laboratory for dousing Hong Kong's political ardour

China, European Union, France How Beijing turned down EU's von de Leyen on French president's recent China trip

The Agencies' Gazette US health intelligence, French intel report, China-Japan rivalry, Tracfin

United StatesRobert Kennedy Jr looking to boost health ministry's intel

FranceParliamentary intelligence delegation report published in Q1 of 2026

ChinaRethinking Ryukyu: Beijing ropes in academics to push archipelago's independence

FranceTracfin interested in humint

China, Europe Western researchers facing intimidation by state security spies

Spymaster | China Xu Youming, the military intelligence chief who survives purges

China, France While Macron is in China, Beijing sends Xinjiang delegation to Paris

Taiwan Taipei lagging behind Beijing in geospatial intelligence

China, Europe CCP ramps up anti-corruption drive abroad

Spotlight | China, France, Taiwan Beijing's invisible hand stifles Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China

China, India China's 'salami slicing' strategy squeezes India on Himalayan border

China China's Central Military Commission gets complete overhaul

The Agencies' Gazette DGSE photos, US farmland, Frontex stress test results, China's London envoy