Great Power Competition: The Industrial Espionage Threat The great power competition will produce a surge in corporate espionage incidents involving Western companies in 2019. The rivalry will drive China and Russia to maintain, if not accelerate, their already-intense efforts. Chinese activity will eclipse Russia's, since China has more resources, though the United States is also more focused on countering China. Since the United States offers the most targets for corporate espionage, U.S. companies will be the ones affected the most, although the threat is not limited to American companies. The companies most likely to be targeted are in sectors that the Chinese and Russians have prioritized in strategic documents. China will be driven to engage in corporate espionage as it seeks to reach technological self-sufficiency and to offset the adverse impacts of the trade war and continuing U.S. efforts to cut its access to foreign markets.