Roundup: Chinese Surveillance Tech and Norms Spread Abroad
As the world grapples with the growing threat of Chinese surveillance technology, it has become increasingly clear that the spread of these technologies is no longer a localized issue. Instead, it is a global phenomenon that is having far-reaching consequences for individual freedoms, human rights, and international relations.
The Intel Connection
A recent investigation by Emily Baker-White at Forbes revealed that Intel, which recently agreed to give the U.S. government a 10% stake in the company, has been working with sanctioned Chinese surveillance firms. The investigation found that Intel has little-known partnerships with multiple Chinese surveillance firms, including Uniview, Hikvision, and Cloudwalk.
Uniview, a company that was placed on a U.S. sanctions list last year due to its role in enabling human rights violations, including high-technology surveillance targeted at the general population, Uyghurs, and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups. Intel's Chinese-language site even includes documents referencing partnerships with Hikvision, a major surveillance camera manufacturer that has been hit with a barrage of sanctions in the last five years.
The company's website promotes Uniview as a "titanium member partner" and touts its "video connected all-in-one machine," which uses Intel technology to facilitate image/object detection/recognition/classification and video surveillance and analysis. The product's coverage area includes the Chinese mainland, Macao, and Hong Kong.
Serbian Government Expands Chinese-Made Surveillance Technology
Earlier this month, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on leaked files that reveal the Serbian government's secret expansion of Chinese-made surveillance technology. The leaked documents show a Serbian IT company that has won Interior Ministry tenders buying new software and services from the Chinese tech giant Huawei.
One purchase order from March 2024 shows plans to expand Serbia's eLTE system, which links the surveillance equipment and software that forms Huawei's Safe City project and allows it to operate. Experts who reviewed the files for RFE/RL said items on the purchase order could support up to 3,500 additional cameras.
The Spread of Chinese Surveillance Technologies
Other articles highlighted the risks of the spread of these Chinese surveillance technologies and norms. Last month, Ausma Bernot wrote for the China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE) platform about how Hikvision and Dahua surveillance cameras, which now dominate international markets, are easily exploitable and often slow to receive security upgrades.
In contrast, academic articles touched on surveillance within China. The American Political Science Association previewed a panel on digital authoritarianism and surveillance at its upcoming annual meeting in September, and referenced a paper by Xu Xu comparing digital and in-person surveillance.
The article found that digital surveillance is less intrusive, making it more palatable to citizens, while also discouraging political participation and preserving interpersonal trust and regime legitimacy. Another article analyzing public reactions to escalating digital control in China found that awareness of the state's mass monitoring and targeted repression intentions significantly decreases public support for more intrusive measures.
China's Global Security Initiative
The Global Public Security Cooperation Forum (Lianyungang), presents an opportunity for China to market its law enforcement technologies to foreign customers. The forum, which was hosted by the Ministry of Public Security in 2024, invited forty-five Chinese surveillance, forensics, and law enforcement technology companies to show their wares.
Experts warn that this expo serves as an opportunity for China to maintain alignment between its internal security apparatus and the firms it relies on to conduct many of its domestic missions.