An American general warns soldiers: Do not work for China, report it if your colleagues are asked outside

General Charles Brown made explicit reference to the Chinese armed forces. In a letter to the soldiers, he wrote: “The People’s Liberation Army wants to benefit from your knowledge and skills to make up for the shortcomings in their military capabilities.”

“Companies from abroad are targeting and recruiting military talent trained by the United States and NATO in a variety of disciplines and fields to train the People’s Liberation Army abroad,” Brown said. The negative consequences of such programs have been discussed for some time, but the US armed forces have not yet definitively mentioned them. China is said to be particularly looking for more experience flying from aircraft carriers.

“By essentially training the trainer, many who work for such foreign companies undermine our national security, endanger the safety of their fellow servicemen and the country, and may even violate the law,” the general wrote in his letter. The letter is dated September 5, but was not published until Friday.

A Chinese embassy spokesman said the US should not interfere in “normal business activities”. “In recent years, some US officials easily make accusations against China and doubt the normal exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States, which is not conducive to the healthy development of China-US relations.”

President Joe Biden nominated Brown as the new Chief of the US General Staff.