By pleading guilty to this espionage conspiracy, Pflugbeil has exposed that Beijing is deliberately working against the US. After all, it's no coincidence that, yet again, an individual linked to the Chinese Communist Party has threatened America's economic interests and national security.
That this case would prompt another round of smears against China is no surprise, but that doesn't make it less outrageous. Intellectual property protection in key areas, including to safeguard trade secrets, has been strengthened in the country — and Pflugbeil isn't even a Chinese national.
There's a 50% chance that China will surpass the United States economically, militarily, and scientifically by November 2069, according to the Metaculus prediction community.