Matthew Brazil
Matt Brazil is a Senior Analyst at BluePath Labs and a Senior Fellow at The Jamestown Foundation. He pursued Chinese studies as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, as an Army officer with tours in Korea and NSA, and as a graduate student at Harvard in their Regional Studies East Asia program. After a stint as the China specialist for the Commerce Department’s Office of Export Enforcement, he was assigned as a Commercial Officer with the US Embassy, Beijing, where he both promoted and controlled US high technology exports to China.
Afterward, Matt spent 20 years as a security professional, performing investigations in China for a chip manufacturer, and leading the development of a security organization in China for an American specialty chemicals firm. His PhD dissertation at the University of Sydney (2013) described the place in the Chinese Communist Party of their intelligence organs. That and further research led to his contribution as the coauthor of Chinese Communist Espionage, An Intelligence Primer (2019). Matt is also the author of the China chapter in the Handbook of Asian Intelligence Cultures (2022). His next book concerns Beijing’s contemporary worldwide espionage and influence offensive.
Contact Matthew Brazil
Articles by Matthew Brazil
The Qin Gang Saga Reveals Security Gaps
Executive Summary: In June 2023, Qin Gang, the former foreign minister of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), mysteriously disappeared, with rumors speculating torture and execution. Recent reports suggest that
Foreign Intelligence Hackers and Their Place in the PRC Intelligence Community
Executive Summary: Leaked files from iS00N reveal deep insights into the PRC’s intelligence operations, highlighting an intensified global security offensive as well as issues within the intelligence community. iS00N’s growth
The Lion, the Wolf Warrior and the Crossroads: UK-China Relations at a Turning Point
Introduction In early 2018, UK Prime Minister Theresa May visited China with a British business delegation, seeking a free trade deal and expressing optimism over Beijing’s “one country, two systems”
Jamestown Fellow Matthew Brazil Quoted by BenarNews
Jamestown Fellow Matthew Brazil was quoted on July 7 by BenarNews regarding the "unprecedented" joint press conference held by the UK's MI5 Director General Ken McCallumand and US FBI Director Christopher
Non-Resident Fellow Matthew Brazil Interviewed by WallStTV Abut Chinese Espionage
Jamestown's Non-Resident Fellow Matthew Brazil discussed Chinese espionage practices in an interview with WallStTV, published on February 13.
Jamestown Fellow Matthew Brazil Interviewed by Newsweek on Chinese Espionage Methods
On December 11, Newsweek published a story on Chinese espionage efforts in the United States, which included an interview with Jamestown Non-Resident Fellow Matthew Brazil -- co-author of the book
Jamestown Non-Resident Fellow Matthew Brazil Quoted in Newsweek Article
Jamestown Non-Resident Fellow Matthew Brazil was quoted by Newsweek in a recent article, "Chinese Spies Pose Unprecedented Threat to US Beyond Elections to Mass Infiltration of Businesses, Intelligence Officials Say."
Article in ThePrint Cites China Brief Article and Chinese Communist Espionage: An Intelligence Primer
A recent article in ThePrint, a prominent online Indian newspaper, cited multiple Jamestown sources in order to shed light on Chinese intelligence agencies and the Strategic Support Force. The piece,
BBC Interviews Jamestown Non-Resident Fellow Matthew Brazil on Hong Kong National Security Law
On June 20, the BBC interviewed Jamestown Non-Resident Fellow Matthew Brazil on the new National Security law being imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing. Brazil discussed the impact the new
VOA China Covers CCP Espionage Book by Jamestown Non-Resident Fellow Matthew Brazil and Former China Brief Editor Peter Mattis
Jamestown Non-Resident Fellow Matthew Brazil and Deputy Staff Director of the Congress-Executive Commission on China Peter Mattis' new book on Chinese intelligence, Chinese Communist Espionage: An Intelligence Primer, was prominently covered in
Jamestown Non-Resident Fellow Matthew Brazil Interviewed on Online TV Show “China Uncensored”
Jamestown Non-Resident Fellow Matthew Brazil appeared on the online television show China Uncensored to discuss his new book, Chinese Communist Espionage: An Intelligence Primer, co-written with Deputy Staff Director of the Congress-Executive Commission on
China’s Counterintelligence “Trinity” and Foreign Business
As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pursues a domestic anti-spy campaign and new espionage laws, PRC national security concerns and greater suspicion of foreigners may trump foreign business complaints about
Jamestown Fellow Matthew Brazil Quoted by New York Times on China-North Korea Trade
Jamestown Fellow Matthew Brazil was quoted in a recent piece, "Even Through Decades of Sanctions, North Korea Finds Avenues of Trade," by the New York Times on May 12, 2017.
Thinking the Unthinkable: Are American Organizations in China Ready for a Serious Crisis?
Since the 2016 General Election, American relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have followed a rollercoaster-like trajectory. Days before his inauguration, President Trump briefly reversed decades of predictable
Matt Brazil quoted in the New York Times
Jamestown Fellow Matthew Brazil was recently quoted in the New York Times regarding an ongoing U.S. Treasury Department investigation of Huawei, the Chinese tech giant. Mr. Brazil previously worked in
Jamestown Fellows Peter Mattis and Matt Brazil quoted in the Economist
The Economist quoted former China Brief Editor Peter Mattis and Matt Brazil. The article from November 12, "Happenstance and Enemy Action," discusses how world intelligence agencies are refocusing on China. Mattis
The Stable Door and Chollima: Chinese Computers and North Korean IT
In early 2016, Chinese border authorities reportedly cracked down on exports to North Korea due to irritation over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile tests. Despite these and previous sanctions, computers
Jamestown Fellow Matt Brazil Quoted by LA Times
Jamestown Fellow Matt Brazil was quoted in the LA Times on September 24 regarding how China views espionage: “The regime appears to be accelerating counterintelligence efforts in response to fears of spies...This
Addressing Rising Business Risk in China
As the People’s Republic of China (PRC) celebrated its first-ever National Security Day, anti-foreigner sentiment appears to have been made an official part of the Chinese state’s increased vigilance. A
Foreign Businesses in China: Out on a Limb?
Even when Chinese relations with major trading partners are stable, arbitrary actions by the host government against foreign businesses in China have not been uncommon. At present, China’s relations with