I used to work in an information security management position. I also gave defensive and counter intelligence briefings to our employees. China has always been at the top of the list of countries that commit espionage. Going back as long as I can remember. It's what they do.

They will send over millions of their people to spy everywhere. Any little bit of info they can get no matter how inconsequential it may seem. The Chinese have a saying: every little piece of sand makes up the entire beach.

They collect every little piece of info they can get in order to form the entire picture.