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The spy game between the U.S. and China is even more expansive (mở rộng) than the one that played out between the Americans and the Soviets during the Cold War, said Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director. China’s large population and economy enable it to build intelligence services (xây dựng dịch vụ tình báo) that are bigger than those of the U.S.

When a Chinese spy balloon drifted across the continental U.S. in February, it threw a spotlight on (ném sự chú ý vào) an expanding and highly secretive spy-versus-spy (điệp viên bí mật chống lại điệp viên) contest. American intelligence agencies learned that the People’s Liberation Army had kept President Xi Jinping himself in the dark about the errant balloon’s trajectory until it was over the U.S.

For the U.S., espionage (gián điệp) efforts are a critical part of President Biden’s strategy to constrain the military and technological rise of China, in line with his thinking that the country poses the greatest long-term challenge to American power. For Beijing, the new tolerance for bold action among Chinese spy agencies is driven by Xi, who has led his military to engage in aggressive moves along the nation’s borders and pushed his foreign intelligence agency to become more active in farther-flung locales.

Effective espionage can halt a slide into (trượt vào) war or smooth the path of delicate negotiations (đàm phán tế nhị). It can also speed nations toward diplomatic rifts (rạn nứt ngoại giao) or armed conflict (xung đột vũ trang). The espionage struggle could also be a substitute for armed clashes — as it often was during the Cold War.

Technology: U.S. officials have honed their ability to intercept electronic communications, including using spy planes off China’s coast. Chinese agents use social media sites — LinkedIn, in particular — to lure potential recruits, and China even has artificial intelligence software that can detect the gait of an American spy.