A leaked internal document from Russia’s powerful Federal Security Service (FSB) reveals growing distrust toward China, with the agency branding Beijing as “the enemy” in an eight-page planning document obtained
The document, reportedly authored by a previously undisclosed FSB unit, has warned that China poses a serious and expanding threat to Russian national security.
China is increasingly trying to recruit Russian scientists and intelligence officers, the document states, adding that Beijing is aggressively targeting “dissatisfied individuals” with access to sensitive military and technological information.
Spying on Ukraine and Arctic espionage
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.
“Chinese intelligence conducts espionage in the Arctic using mining companies and university research centers as cover,” the report alleges, raising alarms over Beijing’s dual-use civilian infrastructure and scientific engagement.
Fears over territorial ambitions
The document also expresses concern that China could be laying the groundwork to eventually challenge Russian territorial claims, particularly in sparsely populated and strategically significant regions near their shared border.
Counterintelligence programme ‘Entente-4’ launched before Ukraine invasion
Strikingly, just three days before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the FSB launched a new counterintelligence programme titled ‘Entente-4’—a name seen as a pointed irony, given Moscow’s public embrace of Beijing.
The report noted that with most of Russia’s espionage resources focused on Ukraine, the FSB feared China might take advantage of the shift. The timing was likely not accidental.
