The Wilson Center | Distinguished Fellow of The Wilson Center Ken Westbrook posted an essay in advance of President Trump’s meetings with Xi Jingping. In it, he advocates for President Trump and Xi Jinping to address transnational cybercrime as a core bilateral priority.

Research by the United States–China Economic and Security Review Commission found that Chinese criminal networks operate a massive criminal enterprise. They run massive scam compounds that target American citizens with financial crimes and fraud. Beyond the financial damage, these crimes use psychological strategies to manipulate and devastate their victims, affecting entire families and trust in the digital economy.

Often located in Southeast Asia, the operations rival the global drug trade in scale, yet get far less attention at the federal and international government levels.

Established by the U.S. Congress, the bipartisan commission found that an estimated $5 billion was lost to China-linked online scams in 2024 — 42% more than in 2023. The new 2025 FBI Internet Crime Report puts the numbers much higher.

China has cracked down on the scam operators targeting its own citizens. The commission concluded, however, that this attention has resulted in a shift toward targeting victims in the United States. “Americans are now among the top global targets of China-linked scam centers,” according to the report.

The Department of Justice recently created a Strike Force chartered with addressing these crimes. Westbrook contends that the United States must also maintain “sustained diplomatic and economic pressure on Beijing.”

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Full Article: An Opportunity to Safeguard America from Chinese Cybercriminals