[tikititaki]

> no need to invest decades in people, culture, and research equipment when you can just steal the result from others.

This isn't really a new phenomena. The USSR had spies in the Manhattan project and was able to create a nuclear bomb a few short years after the USA. Or the classic story of the British cracking the German radio communications in WW2 (with the help of the Poles, certainly).

I wonder if we're going to get interesting stories about what's happening right now in the future if it ever becomes declassified. Also, I'd imagine there's just as much cyber intrusions by the American government / American companies as there are by Chinese companies although I will admit I have seen no evidence to point to this. I just think we wouldn't hear about it.

[secfirstmd]

Don't forget Echelon revelations about the US spying on European companies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON. Of course European companies, esp France have done the same.