The recent revelation surrounding John Rogers, a former senior advisor at the U.S. Federal Reserve, has sent shockwaves through Washington. Rogers, arrested and charged with espionage earlier this year, allegedly funneled classified economic data to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agents—unveiling yet another alarming chapter in Beijing’s covert war against American sovereignty.
Between 2010 and 2021, Rogers had access to some of America’s most sensitive economic insights, including interest rate strategies, trade policies, and unpublished data from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). According to court documents, he began passing this information to Chinese agents as early as 2018, hiding behind the guise of “academic collaboration” and university lectures.
His contact, initially posing as a Chinese graduate student in 2013, invited Rogers to China under false pretenses. This fake academic relationship evolved into clandestine hotel meetings, cash bribes, and ultimately, an appointment at Fudan University with lucrative compensation—including a $150,000 salary and a $300,000 research grant. The seduction didn’t stop at money: Rogers eventually married a Shanghai woman he met through a dating platform during his visits—further tying him emotionally to China.
Rogers’ story is far from isolated. It’s a textbook example of Beijing’s systematic playbook for infiltration:
This strategy is not about curiosity or mutual research—it’s strategic, secretive, and hostile, designed to extract confidential U.S. government data to benefit China’s geopolitical ambitions.
Rogers’ arrest echoes the findings of a 2022 U.S. Senate report, which identified at least 13 Federal Reserve employees suspected of contact with Chinese agents. The methods were nearly identical: covert trips to China, offers of academic posts, and digital leaks of financial models. Some were even detained and coerced during visits.
More recently, the DOJ indicted a State Department employee for similar leaks of diplomatic and defense-related documents. These infiltrations show that China’s intelligence operations have expanded beyond military and tech sectors—now targeting America’s economic and foreign policy command centers.
China is not just competing with the U.S.—it is actively working to undermine us from within. Through “non-traditional espionage,” the CCP bypasses armed conflict to exploit our openness: academia, government, think tanks, and even dating platforms. These intrusions aim not only to steal data but to reshape U.S. economic policy, weaken our institutional integrity, and erode public trust.
The John Rogers case is not just about one man’s betrayal—it’s a mirror reflecting the urgent threat posed by China’s silent war on America’s institutions. If left unchecked, these operations could irreversibly damage U.S. national security, economy, and global standing. It’s time Americans recognize the CCP’s manipulation not as abstract diplomacy—but as a clear and present danger.
