Chinese criminal networks are responsible for a staggering amount of cybercrimes committed against US citizens. When President Trump meets with Xi Jinping, he should make clear that cooperation against cybercrime is a core bilateral priority.
US President Trump has pressured China to act when American lives are at stake. When he visits Beijing on May 14-15, he should do so again—this time to confront the surge in Chinese-linked cybercrime draining billions of dollars from American households.
In 2025, Trump leveraged tariffs to push China to address fentanyl trafficking, ultimately securing Beijing’s agreement to cooperate and limit the flow of this deadly narcotic into the United States. When sufficiently pressed, Beijing can act against transnational threats tied to its networks.
Today, another crisis is unfolding. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a bipartisan commission established by the US Congress, recently found that Chinese criminal networks operate “a massive criminal enterprise that rivals the global drug trade in scale and sophistication.” These groups run industrial-scale scam centers, often located in Southeast Asia, that increasingly target American citizens.
The losses are staggering. An estimated $5 billion was lost to China-linked online scams in 2024 alone, a 42-percent increase over the previous year. The damage extends beyond finances, devastating American families and eroding trust in the digital economy.
China has cracked down on the scam operators targeting its own citizens. The bipartisan US commission concluded, however, that Beijing’s pressure has led Chinese criminal organizations to shift focus to the United States. “Americans are now among the top global targets of China-linked scam centers,” according to the Commission’s report.
The Justice Department recently created a Strike Force that aims to “prevent generational wealth from flowing from America into the pockets of Chinese organized crime.” This is a positive development, but the United States must pair law enforcement with sustained diplomatic and economic pressure on Beijing.
When he meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in just a few days’ time, President Trump should make clear that cooperation against cybercrime is a core bilateral priority, just as he did with fentanyl.
