Every article needs at least one “China bad authoritarian state” claim.

Mattis added that another issue is that Chinese state security doesn’t gather intelligence just through spies, but also by pressing ordinary Chinese people for information, often through threats or intimidation. That, Mattis said, means any Chinese citizen who dates an American diplomat could be vulnerable to coercion.

This sounds like pure projection, I have a hard time believing the CIA doesn’t do this. I’m sure that Chinese intelligence keeps ears and eyes around where foreign embassy staff go but threats and intimidation? Lol k