China urges US to ‘stop all spying’ or face retaliation, slams ‘gangster logic’

Read the original at South China Morning Post ↗
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Zhang, P. (2026, September 12). China urges US to ‘stop all spying’ or face retaliation, slams ‘gangster logic’. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3367300/china-urges-us-stop-all-spying-or-face-retaliation-slams-gangster-logic?utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

South China Morning Post · collected 2026-09-12 · by Phoebe Zhang

Quick Summary

China’s commerce ministry responded sharply to recent comments by a CIA official, demanding that the US cease all spying activities or risk consequences. The ministry's statement came after Michael Ellis, deputy director of the CIA, publicly disclosed plans to intensify intelligence efforts on China in sectors like AI and semiconductors. The Chinese officials accused the United States of using “gangster logic” and emphasized that economic competition should be based on merit rather than espionage.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-12, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On Tuesday, Michael Ellis, deputy director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), announced that the CIA is expanding its intelligence activities targeting China, specifically mentioning areas like AI, semiconductors, and biotechnology as legitimate targets for espionage. In response, the Chinese Commerce Ministry issued a statement on Friday condemning the US’s approach as “gangster logic of hegemony,” emphasizing that economic competition should be based on technology, talent, and innovation rather than espionage. The ministry urged the US to cease all spying activities or face potential retaliation from China.

Written for “China US Spy Dispute” on 2026-10-27, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 China US Spy Dispute
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
5
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 5 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
64/100
South China Morning Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-12 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

South China Morning Post · 3138 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Phoebe Zhang
11 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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All 11 articles by Phoebe Zhang →

Topics

CIA China Chinese Commerce the US Central Intelligence Agency

Subjects

China GPE · 4× CIA ORG · 2× Chinese NORP · 2× Commerce GPE · 1× Ellis PERSON · 1× Michael Ellis PERSON · 1× the US Central Intelligence Agency ORG · 1×

Narrative

In a rare public speech on Tuesday, Ellis revealed that the CIA was expanding its intelligence work on China, suggesting that Chinese companies were “legitimate targets” for espionage in areas such as AI, semiconductors and biotechnology.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-12
2026-09-12 · South China Morning Post
China urges US to ‘stop all spying’ or face retaliation, slams ‘gangster logic’ · assertive framing

Claims (5 extracted, 0 hedged)

China urges US to ‘stop all spying’ or face retaliation, slams ‘gangster logic’ Commerce ministry retort follows CIA official’s defence of spying on China’s AI and chip sectors just weeks ahead of US visit by Xi asserted
retort → urge → Xi
The ministry’s remarks late on Friday were in direct response to statements made earlier in the week by Michael Ellis, the deputy director of the US Central Intelligence Agency. asserted
remarks → make → Agency
In a rare public speech on Tuesday, Ellis revealed that the CIA was expanding its intelligence work on China, suggesting that Chinese companies were “legitimate targets” for espionage in areas such as AI, semiconductors and biotechnology. asserted
companies → reveal → AI
Friday’s brief Chinese ministry statement said the US had “exposed its gangster logic of hegemony in broad daylight”, which China firmly opposed. asserted
China → say → which
Economic competition was a regular commercial activity, and those in advantage relied on technology, talent and innovation, said the statement, which was attributed to a ministry representative. asserted
which → rely → representative
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