Recently, the documentary film “France-China: Secret War” was premiered on a French television channel, exposing the comprehensive secret operations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in France from politics, culture, technology to military. Experts believe that compared to the United States, Europe’s defense against the threat posed by the CCP is insufficient. The European Union and the United States must set aside their technological and trade competition and take unified actions to counter the CCP’s technology theft activities to effectively prevent it.
The 73-minute documentary, titled “France-Chine, la guerre secrète” (France-China, the secret war), aired on the French television channel M6 News investigation program on January 12th.
The film starts with the theft of research data from French universities by Chinese students, revealing Beijing’s full-scale secret operations in France in areas such as politics, culture, technology, and military, including industrial espionage, technology acquisition, political figure monitoring, and influence infiltration. The director of the documentary, Vincent Prado, conducted nearly a year of investigation and collected evidence beyond expectations.
In the field of satellite navigation technology, the CCP has attempted multiple times in the past 20 years to steal and replicate cutting-edge technology owned by France.
The documentary reveals that in 2003, the CCP participated in the European “Galileo” satellite navigation project with Chinese engineers suspected of conducting surveillance missions, leading to accusations of theft of confidential information. European teams subsequently requested the installation of network cables bypassing Chinese offices and restrictions on the entry and exit of Chinese personnel. Later, French intelligence agencies informed that the CCP was secretly developing the “Beidou” navigation system using the Galileo satellite navigation technology. Eventually, Beidou not only completed first but also preemptively occupied frequency bands applicable to navigation systems, leading to frequency conflicts that remain unresolved.
According to Central News Agency, former head of the Beijing office of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Marie-Pierre Van Hoecke disclosed for the first time that European authorities later discovered that the search and rescue service (SAR) operated by the CCP could intercept and disrupt public management service (PRS) signals issued by various governments, leading to demands for dismantling and the breakdown of cooperation.
Taiwan’s Security Research Institute researcher Shen Mingshi told Epoch Times that the disputes between Europe and China over satellite frequencies mainly focus on the dedicated frequency bands reserved for security agencies and emergency departments in the Galileo system. While some technical means can be used to ensure the two systems share frequencies without interference, in extreme situations such as warfare, if one system faces malicious interference, the other system will be adversely affected as well. This proves that collaboration with the CCP results in technology being plundered, and once the CCP gains insight into technological weaknesses, it increases the risk of destruction.
In 2023, the CCP unveiled the domestically produced C919 aircraft, which bears a striking resemblance to the Airbus A350. Media described it as a “sudden emergence.” Previously, the CCP had purchased two Airbus aircraft, raising suspicions of potential part replication.
As of now, the C919 has not obtained international certification. The documentary traced back to 2010 when the CCP initiated hacking attempts on aircraft industry outsourcing companies to steal information and data on international regulatory certification processes, with the Safran Group, makers of A350 engines, being one of their targets.
Shen Mingshi stated that the CCP’s absorption of technology from Airbus was well-known globally. However, due to short-sightedness and pursuit of immediate gains by French companies, the CCP realized the benefits and developed its large aircraft, leveraging labor and cost advantages, along with national subsidies, to compete internationally against France and the United States. Since certain civilian aviation technologies are not critical, coupled with the negligence of France and other Western countries, such outcomes occur. Without due caution, France and other Western nations may suffer from tech loss and market share loss.
The film disclosed the CCP’s military ambitions by hiring retired French Air Force pilots in the guise of mercenaries to obtain technological knowledge and operational procedures known only to NATO pilots. The documentary interviewed a retired pilot who had been approached by the CCP through the Test Flight Academy of Southern Africa (TFASA).
Shen Mingshi noted that the CCP’s aircraft models differ from those of other countries, thus the recruitment of foreign pilots is not to enhance flying skills but to imbue them with Western aircraft performance and tactical concepts. This includes operational tactics for single aircraft and fleet flying, evading electronic interference and missile attacks, allowing CCP pilots to break away from outdated training methods and align with global trends. If future conflicts arise, the CCP could develop unpredictable warfare tactics, leading to victory in wars. Therefore, the West must impose restrictions on these professionals and prohibit assistance in training CCP pilots.
Ou Xifu, Director of the CCP’s Politics, Military, and Operational Concepts Department at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Studies, stated to Epoch Times that current CCP pilots lack experience in aircraft carrier operations. Hence, they need to import external resources by hiring retired pilots from Western countries at high costs to train their own pilots. This could result in damage to the interests of these countries since the expertise learned by the CCP will be primarily targeted against these Western nations in the future.
“The CCP’s technological development is always based on imitation and reverse engineering, trading markets for technology. Once they have what they need, they will get rid of you. Especially in military operations, when Western countries share their experience with China, it’s akin to supplying a future adversary because once they learn, they can use it against you. Therefore, Western countries have begun to impose restrictions,” he said.
Regarding the above documentary, the French Defense Intelligence and Security Agency (DRSD) responded to the media for the first time, confirming awareness of severe CCP actions and implementing counter-espionage measures. DRSD head Philippe Susnjara stated in an interview that many French pilots chose to return home after understanding the severity of the situation. Legislation has been enacted since 2024, requiring confidential military personnel to report prior to teaching overseas, but it is not retroactive.
In fact, on February 25, 2021, France’s second television channel, “Complément d’enquête,” aired an in-depth investigative report titled “Chine, la grande offensive” (China, the grand offensive) for over an hour, revealing the multifaceted penetration of France by the CCP in cultural, political, and technological sectors.
At that time, the report pointed out that the CCP had long understood the operations of France’s power circles and sought support from France’s political hierarchy. It mentioned the Chinese Business Club attended by political and business giants, becoming a strategic point for CCP united front activities.
Shen Mingshi stated that a few years ago, French television produced a documentary showcasing the CCP’s attempts and actions in intelligence and technology theft, issuing a warning. However, it seems to have had little effect as France, unlike the United States, is not as vigilant and proactive in implementing various technological sanctions or restricting CCP students with military backgrounds from entering key technological universities in the United States. The controls are relatively lax.
He believes that the content of this documentary may deepen further, but for French and European businesses, if the United States or the European Union does not propose sanctions or bans, even with some awareness, they may reignite ties with the CCP under the right inducements. Therefore, the EU and the United States must set aside their technological and trade competition and take unified actions to counter the CCP’s technology theft activities effectively.
Ou Xifu stated that Western countries believed the threat from the CCP was minimal in the early days after so-called reform and opening up. Hence, they sold a lot of technology to China. Now, the emphasis on preventing CCP technology theft should have changed because the threat has been felt, such as the issues arising from China’s electric vehicle production. However, the impacts on European countries vary, and some are even pro-China, making it challenging to take unified steps. It will not happen quickly. In this regard, the vigilance of the United States is higher compared to Europe.
On January 13th, Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd., a leading Chinese walkie-talkie enterprise also known as “Little Huawei” in the field of private network communications, admitted to the US Federal Court that they had stolen walkie-talkie technology from Chicago’s Motorola Solutions.
Hytera had previously been blacklisted by the US government.
Ou Xifu said that Western nations can counter the CCP threat by maintaining their leading position in critical technology. Western nations now emphasize clean supply chains, avoiding red supply chains, making it more difficult for the CCP to steal technology again.
Apart from technology and information theft and transfer, the documentary “France-China: Secret War” also revealed CCP’s cross-border pressure on dissidents in France, soft power infiltration through Confucius Institutes, surveillance, and censorship by participating in international film and television co-productions and controlling creations.