In this episode of Café Berlin, Ian Oxnevad and I are joined by David Shedd, former Acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and co-author (with Andrew Badger) of The Great Heist: China’s Epic Campaign to Steal America’s Secrets (HarperCollins, 2025).

Our conversation explores how the Chinese Communist Party has pursued a long-term, whole-of-society strategy to acquire American technology, intellectual property, research, and strategic advantage across sectors ranging from academia and industry to artificial intelligence, telecommunications, energy, and advanced manufacturing.

Drawing on decades of intelligence experience, Shedd explains how China integrates cyber operations, talent recruitment, academic partnerships, commercial access, and industrial policy into a broader geopolitical strategy aimed at reshaping the global balance of power.

We also discuss foreign influence in U.S. higher education, research security, technology transfer, supply-chain dependency, energy policy, and the growing intersection between innovation and national security.

Watch the episode here or on YouTube:

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