China International Culture Exchange Center

The 12th Bureau of the Ministry of State Security, known publicly as the China International Culture Exchange Center (CICEC; Chinese: 中国国际文化交流中心) under an arrangement called "one institution with two names", is a set of research institutes operated by the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), the principal civilian intelligence agency of the People's Republic of China as a front organization. CICEC was founded in 1984 and is active in operations to influence foreign think tanks, academics, and other high-profile foreigners.^[1][2][3] In addition to the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, CICEC is considered one of the main front organizations utilized for foreign influence operations by the MSS.^[2][4]

China International Culture Exchange Center

中国国际文化交流中心 (Chinese)
Abbreviation	CICEC
Formation	1984; 40 years ago (1984)
Headquarters	Beijing
Alternate name	12th Bureau of the Ministry of State Security
Vice President	Sun Wenqing
Parent organization	Ministry of State Security
Affiliations	Chinese Communist Party
Website	www.cicec.org.cn
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	中国国际文化交流中心
Traditional Chinese	中國國際文化交流中心
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Guójì Wénhuà Jiāoliú Zhōngxīn

China scholar Miwa Hirono stated that the idea for the CICEC began when then-paramount leader Deng Xiaoping wanted to advance Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s interests through more so-called "people's diplomacy" in addition to the official diplomatic channels.^[2][5] According to Australian analyst Alex Joske, "[f]rom its very earliest days, CICEC's activities exemplified the Leninist united front strategy of forming alliances of convenience with outside groups, only to discard or marginalise them when they are no longer needed."^[2] CICEC was a key platform for propagating the narrative of "China's peaceful rise" with foreign elites throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.^[2]

CICEC has been a long-time working partner with the China Association for Science and Technology for its technology transfer programs.^[6]

See also

• China portal

• Chinese intelligence activity abroad
• Chinese information operations and information warfare

References

1. Codarin, Livia; Harth, Laura; Jichang, Lulu (2021-11-20). "Hijacking the mainstream: CCP influence agencies and their operations in Italian parliamentary and local politics" (PDF). Sinopsis. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
2. Joske, Alex (2022). "Nestling spies in the united front". Spies and Lies: How China's Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World. Hardie Grant Books. pp. 24–39. ISBN 978-1-74358-900-7. OCLC 1347020692.
3. Mattis, Peter L.; Brazil, Matthew J. (2019-11-15). Chinese Communist Espionage: An Intelligence Primer. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-68247-304-7. OCLC 1117319580.
4. Joske, Alex (June 1, 2020). "The party speaks for you: Foreign interference and the Chinese Communist Party's united front system". Australian Strategic Policy Institute. JSTOR resrep25132. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
5. Hirono, Miwa (2008-11-10). Civilizing Missions: International Religious Agencies in China. Springer. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-0-230-61649-3. OCLC 314832381.
6. "CAST History". usacast.org. Archived from the original on 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2022-10-27.

External links

• Official website