Classic Form: Lure someone into giving you something of great value (jade) by first offering them something of much lesser value (a brick). The "brick" can be a decoy, a piece of false information, or a seemingly generous but minor offer designed to elicit a more valuable response.
Modern Version: Provide seemingly beneficial platforms, technologies, investment capital, or market access to lure foreign partners into revealing their trade secrets, proprietary technology, or strategic plans.
AI-Powered Execution: An adversary offers a "brick"—such as free access to a sophisticated AI model, a large dataset for research, or an open-source software tool. When a target company or research lab integrates this seemingly valuable "brick" into their own systems, it creates a backdoor. This backdoor can then be used to exfiltrate the "jade"—their proprietary algorithms, sensitive R&D data, customer lists, and long-term strategic plans. The initial offering is merely the delivery mechanism for the exploit.
CCP Application: The CCP has perfected this tactic in the realm of intellectual property theft. Chinese entities will engage a U.S. company in a potential partnership, sharing a basic technology or design (the "brick") to encourage the American firm to share its more advanced, proprietary designs (the "jade") for "integration testing". Once the valuable IP is acquired, the partnership is dissolved, and a Chinese competitor soon emerges with a remarkably similar product. Similarly, China offers developing countries seemingly generous infrastructure projects (ports, railways) through the BRI. This "brick" of infrastructure then provides Beijing with the "jade" of strategic port access, rights to natural resources, and the installation of surveillance capabilities.
Collaborators: Western researchers and engineers who, driven by a culture of open collaboration and a desire for recognition, share sensitive information with Chinese counterparts without adequate security protocols. Venture capitalists and corporate executives with no national loyalty, who are willing to trade valuable intellectual property for the promise of short-term market access or investment.
Counter: Guard your jade. Treat your intellectual property as a critical national security asset, not a bargaining chip. Scrutinize every offer of partnership from a CCP-linked entity and ask the fundamental question: "What is the real price of this 'brick'?" Do not trade crown-jewel technology for applause or the illusion of market access.