A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson taunted the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, suggesting the agency deploy 300,000 agents to monitor Chinese students in American universities over fears of espionage. 

The comments came in response to a proposal from Republican Representative Andy Barr to create a new Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiative tasked with tackling Chinese Communist Party espionage and theft at American universities. The bill would create 56 new FBI agent slots to address this well-documented national security threat,

In response, Chinese Communist Party spokeswoman Hua Chunying asserted during a May 12th press conference that the U.S. would need to deploy 300,000 agents – equivalent to the number of Chinese students studying in the U.S. – to accomplish the proposal’s objectives of rooting out espionage.

“The House member should set 300,000 positions, or at least 150,000 to surveil them, which can at the same time solve the US’ unemployment problem,” Hua said in a press briefing. Chinese state-run media outlets hyped Hua’s remarks, suggesting she “mocked” the U.S. intelligence agency and its efforts to crack down on Chinese Communist Party espionage.