What is unrecognised, or barely recognised, by virtually any Western Corporation executive, dealing with Chinese companies... is that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the ruling party in Govt... in this one-party country... is the holder of the majority of the shares, in every sizeable Chinese business.
This means that all these deals where Chinese companies are entering into Western Country JV's... purchasing sizeable %'s of Western Corporations... or investing in a dozen other ways, in Western Countrys technology, assets, manufacturing, mines, farms, etc., etc.,... the Chinese Communist Party is gaining some form of control, access to vital information, and in many cases, controlling access to raw materials.
The Chinese already effectively own every single zinc mine in the world, and they now effectively control the worlds zinc supply.
Who needs spies, when Western businesses and Western Corporate Executives open the doors to the safe willingly, and give the CCP the keys??
Remember, despite China's huge upsurge in world standing and production, this is still a country where the PLA are the ruling force, and democracy is a word used to describe foreign countries.
This is a nation where, in my short lifetime, I can remember a "Cultural Revolution", instigated by aforesaid Party, that took only 2 years to take the country back 5 centuries.
There is nothing to say the same wouldn't happen again in the blink of an eyelid... particularly when domineering power is entrenched in an ideology-run ruling entity.
We hand over control of our manufacturing, Western assets, and technology to China, at our long-term peril.