Ji Chao Chun (2:03)

Roughly, how long will it take?

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (2:04)

My car is parked over there in red.

Ji Chao Chun (2:06)

No problem. No problem.

Narrator (2:10)

The two men walk towards the red car and get in.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (2:18)

I'm not sure if you are aware something went down with the friends in Nanjin.

Ji Chao Chun (2:22)

I am not aware.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (2:23)

Do you know whom I am referring to?

Narrator (2:25)

She hesitates. The man pulls out his phone.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (2:31)

Let me show you this.

Ji Chao Chun (2:45)

I have heard of him.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (2:46)

Have you heard that something happened to him recently?

Ji Chao Chun (2:48)

I am not aware. The stranger says his name is Chen and suggests that the two of them go somewhere more private than his car. He says he has a room at the Hyatt, which is nearby. At first, Ji tries to get out of it. I really don't have time right now. I apologize, but Chen pushes back. This is important.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (3:10)

When people have issues such as this talk with you, they come to me. But I do not want to talk too much about it because.

Ji Chao Chun (3:16)

Okay, I understand. Ji gives in.

FBI Surveillance Agent (3:20)

They drive to the hotel and it was immediate. Let's start moving. Let's start getting into place. So at that point, I left for the hotel and got to the lobby.

Narrator (3:31)

Chen parks the car and the two men walk into the hotel.

FBI Surveillance Agent (3:37)

I am simply A spectator sitting near the hotel bar and enjoying my afternoon. But my true goal is to keep my eyes on the two individuals that are briskly walking into the hotel lobby and making their way to the elevator.

Narrator (3:52)

The two men take the elevator up to a room. Ji sits down at a small table at the foot of the unmade bed.

FBI Surveillance Agent (3:59)

We'd already gone into the hotel room and placed a camera.

Narrator (4:03)

Chen takes off his coat and drapes it over a chair. He's dressed like an accountant. A blue button down khakis and a cell phone holster. He closes the curtains, but that plunges the room into complete darkness. So he reopens them. They both laugh awkwardly.

Ji Chao Chun (4:24)

Chen sits down. He pulls a sheet of paper out of his pocket, unfolds it and hands it across the table. It's a recent article from a Belgian newspaper. Chinese spy arrested in Brussels at the request of the United States the spy is Xu Yanjun. The same person. Chen name dropped Ji back in his car. Ji knows Shu Yanjun well. Xu works for China's Ministry of State Security, or mss, and so does Ji. Both of them are spies.

FBI Surveillance Agent (4:56)

We were aware of Ji Qiao Chun's relationship with his MSS handler, Xu Yanjun. Our goal was to use the information that his handler was arrested.

Narrator (5:11)

Chen tells Ji that the friends in Nanjing don't know how Shu Yanjun's cover was blown.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (5:19)

We don't know if the problem was with your communications with them. We don't know why is the US onto him.

Commercial Announcer (5:25)

So.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (5:25)

So I was sent to let you know to stop contacting them for now.

Ji Chao Chun (5:29)

Okay? Chen warns Ji, you could now be in danger. He hands Ji a cell phone. He says Ji should only contact him from now on and only on this device.

FBI Surveillance Agent (5:40)

Your handler was arrested. Don't talk to anybody else at this time. Any information that you need to relay back should go through me.

Ji Chao Chun (5:47)

Chen's making it clear I am now the only person you can trust.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (5:53)

So they sent me here to talk to you. But at this time, please stay low key. Don't send them any text messages. Don't send them WeChat messages, don't email them because we don't know where things went wrong. So, like nothing had happened at normal.

Narrator (6:12)

The two men leave the hotel room and Chen drives Ji back to his apartment. Before Jie gets out of the car, Chen makes sure he has the cell phone.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (6:24)

Did you grab the cell phone?

Ji Chao Chun (6:25)

Yes, it's in my pocket. Thank you for your help.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (6:29)

Give me a bit of time. Don't tell anyone about this, okay?

Narrator (6:35)

The whole interaction lasts about two hours. Chen drives off, parks and speaks into a hidden microphone.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (6:43)

Today day is April 25, 2018. The time is 5:03pm Ending the consensual monitoring.

Ji Chao Chun (7:00)

What G didn't know that afternoon was that this stranger off the street who knew his name and his biggest secret was actually an undercover FBI agent. And the person watching them was an agent too.

Narrator (7:14)

A lot of what the undercover agent had said to Xi was a lie. But one key detail was true. Xu Yanjun, Ji's MSS handler had been.

Expert/Analyst (7:23)

Arrested to announce federal criminal charges for conspiracy to commit economic espionage and theft of trade secrets.

Narrator (7:32)

Xu wasn't just Xi's handler. He was running MSS operations all over the world. And he was at the center of one of the most significant spy rings the FBI has ever taken down.

Ji Chao Chun (7:46)

The MSS is believed to be the world's largest intelligence agency. But the people who work there are basically ghosts. We rarely learn their names, and even when we do, it's usually an alias. Xu Yanjun was the first intelligence officer ever to be lured out of China, arrested and tried in the us.

FBI Official/Commentator (8:05)

We had never been able to convict in the United States and put in prison a staff MSS officer. So it was very clear to me that we were making history.

Ji Chao Chun (8:16)

What this case cracked open for the first time was a view from inside the mss, revealing thousands of pages of emails, chats, audio recordings, classified Chinese government documents, even Xu's personal diary.

Expert/Analyst (8:30)

It was just strange the way he.

Commercial Announcer (8:32)

Kept records of everything.

Expert/Analyst (8:34)

Not only what happened, but his own feelings about them. I now have several terabytes of an MSS officer, no doubt, no question of his life, and that's a unicorn.

Narrator (8:48)

At the heart of Xu's mission was an advanced technology that China has been after for years, one that has proven uniquely difficult to copy, much less surpass. Ready for takeoff? Ready for takeoff, sir. There you go. The jet engine. The jet engine. One of the marvels of this century of marvels. It was a marvel when it was invented over 80 years ago, and it still is today. Only a few countries in the world know how to make them really well.

Expert/Analyst (9:17)

China has said this is a national priority that we get this information. The MSS was tasked to do it. It fell down to Xuanzhou at that time.

Ji Chao Chun (9:29)

He's right out of central casting.

Expert/Analyst (9:31)

Xu is basically out there trying to steal corporate secrets, is doing that with the full support and cooperation of his government. He did it multiple times over multiple years, right through an extensive network around the world.

FBI Surveillance Agent (9:45)

These are things that could be catastrophic.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (9:47)

The idea that we could get Xu.

Ji Chao Chun (9:50)

It opens up so many doors to.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (9:52)

Understanding what, what the Chinese government is.

Ji Chao Chun (9:55)

Up to, what information they have about.

Undercover FBI Agent (Chen) (9:57)

Us, how they work.

Ji Chao Chun (9:58)

It's like a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity.

FBI Official/Commentator (10:00)

If the American people truly understood the scope of Chinese espionage inside the United States right now, they'd be shocked. They'd be outraged.

Expert/Analyst (10:09)

It's the people of the United States who are the victims of what amounts.

Narrator (10:13)

To Chinese theft on a scale so.

Expert/Analyst (10:15)

Massive that it represents one of the largest transfers of wealth in human history. Stealing American technology, giving it to Chinese companies who can then undercut American companies, and Americans go out of business. That is their stated goal. They want to replace the United States as the world's only superpower. And they're on track to do what they're claiming they're going to do.

Ji Chao Chun (10:43)

There's a lot of change and straight up chaos happening right now. Some of it may end up being noise, but we are witnessing the formation of a new world order. And one thing's clear, China is the new economic and military superpower alongside the US the two countries have been going head to head for the last few decades. Not that long ago, the US was still ahead of China in almost every advanced technology. That time has passed. China's caught up in so many ways, thanks to a ton of investment, talent, innovation, and one more thing. Spying. From Bloomberg News and iHeart podcast, this is the Sixth Bureau. I'm Jordan Robertson.

Narrator (11:32)

And I'm Drake Bennett. This is a story of the inner workings of one of the world's most mysterious and and powerful spy agencies. And how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its vault of secrets. On the next episode.

FBI Official/Commentator (12:03)

We are in the business of exploiting your weakness, your needs, your vulnerabilities. And we're good at it.

Ji Chao Chun (12:11)

That recording was almost dumb luck. I cannot believe they didn't turn that.

Expert/Analyst (12:15)

Recording off the helicopter. That the Marine Corps is going to fly the next level helicopter. There's no reason that the Chinese government needs to know the specifications of that. There's no reason an employee of any American company should be prepared to pass that sort of information over.

Ji Chao Chun (12:32)

Foreign.

Commercial Announcer (12:47)

With Bali from Ishares, you get access to both monthly income and growth potential in one simple ETF. It's the best of both worlds. Discover Bali iShares Large Cap Premium Income Active ETF iShares the market is yours. Visit www.ishares.com to view perspectives for investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing. Risks include principal loss, and the use of derivatives, which could increase risks and volatility. Monthly income is not guaranteed. Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC.

Commercial Announcer (13:13)

So have you heard the story about the prescription plan? With savings automatically built in, it's where a family of any size can feel confident the cost of their medication won't hold them back. Go to CMK Co Stories to learn how CBS Caremark helps members save just by being members. That's CMK Co Stories with four Imprint, Finding the right promo products can be easy. They call it four Imprint Certainty, which means you get free samples, expert help, art assistance and their assurance your logo looks great. 4imprint offers thousands of options to choose from, including branded apparel, drinkware, outdoor and more. And it's backed by their 360 degree guarantee. That's 4imprint's promise that your order will be packed with care and delivered on time. Need your order faster? 4imprint offers quick turnaround options too. Visit 4imprint.com to explore 4imprint for certain.