A leaked internal document from Russia\u2019s powerful Federal Security Service (FSB) reveals growing distrust toward China, with the agency branding Beijing as \u201cthe enemy\u201d in an eight-page planning document obtained by The New York Times.<\/p>\n
The document, reportedly authored by a previously undisclosed FSB<\/a> unit, warns that China poses a serious and expanding threat to Russian national security.<\/p>\n China is increasingly trying to recruit Russian scientists and intelligence officers, the document states, adding that Beijing is aggressively targeting \u201cdissatisfied individuals” with access to sensitive military and technological information.<\/p>\n Spying on Ukraine and Arctic espionage<\/p>\n FSB officers claim that Chinese agents are actively monitoring Russian military operations in Ukraine. Their aim, according to the document, is to analyse Western-supplied weapons and learn modern warfare techniques.<\/p>\n \u201cChinese intelligence conducts espionage in the Arctic using mining companies and university research centers as cover,\u201d the report alleges, raising alarms over Beijing\u2019s dual-use civilian infrastructure and scientific engagement.<\/p>\n Fears over territorial ambitions<\/p>\n The document also expresses concern that China<\/a> could be laying groundwork to eventually challenge Russian territorial claims, particularly in sparsely populated and strategically significant regions near their shared border.<\/p>\n Counterintelligence program \u2018Entente-4\u2019 launched Before Ukraine invasion<\/p>\n Strikingly, just three days before Russia<\/a> invaded Ukraine<\/a> in February 2022, the FSB launched a new counterintelligence program titled Entente-4\u2014a name seen as a pointed irony, given Moscow\u2019s public embrace of Beijing.<\/p>\n The report notes that with most of Russia\u2019s espionage resources focused on Ukraine, the FSB feared China might take advantage of the shift. The timing was likely not accidental.<\/p>\n FSB orders surveillance of Chinese collaborators<\/p>\n Since 2022, the FSB says it has documented a sharp increase in Chinese efforts to infiltrate Russian institutions. In response, Russian officers were directed to hold face-to-face meetings with Russian citizens cooperating closely with China.<\/p>\n They were instructed to eliminate the threat and prevent the transfer of critical information, the document states, adding, Beijing seeks to exploit Russia and gain access to advanced scientific research.<\/p>\n Surveillance, suspicion, and polygraphs<\/p>\n The report further reveals a climate of deep mutual suspicion between the two powers. Chinese intelligence reportedly monitors returning operatives using polygraph tests and controls over 20,000 Russian students currently in China.<\/p>\n The FSB warns that Chinese agents often seek out Russians married to Chinese citizens for potential recruitment. The goal: to penetrate Russia\u2019s state institutions through trusted, vulnerable personal connections.<\/p>\n Also Read<\/strong> | Ukraine defiant as Russia claims gain in Dnipropetrovsk: \u2018Our resistance\u2026\u2019<\/a>A hidden intelligence battle<\/p>\n