CI Press, Episode 82: China’s Long Game, Inside Espionage, Academia & National Security with Special Guest Nick Eftimiadis
Hosts Dave Turner and Jeremy Clark sit down with Nick Eftimiadis, a former CIA, DSS, and DIA intelligence professional and current Penn State professor, for an in-depth conversation on the strategic depth and persistence of Chinese intelligence operations. Drawing on decades of operational and academic experience, Eftimiadis breaks down how the Chinese Communist Party leverages espionage, influence operations, and talent acquisition to advance long-term national objectives.
The episode explores the growing counterintelligence risks within U.S. academia and industry, the vulnerabilities surrounding emerging and critical technologies, and why the United States needs a cohesive, whole-of-government counterintelligence strategy to compete effectively. The discussion also examines China’s use of the Belt and Road Initiative as a tool of geopolitical influence, escalating cross-strait tensions with Taiwan, and the implications for U.S. national security.
Listeners will gain practical, actionable insights tailored for counterintelligence, security, and insider-threat professionals, including how to shift from reactive defenses to proactive and offensive CI postures in an era of strategic competition.