Writing in the US newspaper 'The Beacon' on April 2, 2018, Bill Gertz claimed that a secret program authorized by the CCP CC's General Office approved a "working plan on strengthening the intensity of United Front Work in the area of science and technology of the United States in 2017." According to him the 3-page document dated December 13, 2016, authorized an aggressive program of stealing U.S. science and technology information by recruiting Americans in the tech sector with access to trade secrets. The document states "The united front work targeted on the areas of science and technology of the United States is an important measure of our party to deeply divide western hostile forces, to maintain social stability, to ensure national security, to comprehensively advance the rapid development of our own science and technology and economy, to accelerate the construction of national defense modernization, and to consolidate the overseas united front." Copies of the document were sent to the National People's Congress (NPC), State Council and Central Military Commission (CMC). Gertz said it describes the United States as a "hostile" power that is blocking China's development by denying access to cutting edge American technology. The document additionally directs: "Your department must take the lead in further strengthening reasonable investment of various resources, effectively join forces with diplomatic, state security, and military intelligence agencies to deeply explore and develop personal relationships and connections related to the areas of high and new and core science and technology of the United States." The sectors targeted in the covert program include traditional defense and military industry, nuclear energy and power, aerospace and aviation and microelectronics, and biological and medical science. The new plan also targets cutting edge technologies including quantum computing and information science and technology. It says "We should particularly target those key persons who have a relationship of commercial interests with our country (including Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions) and overseas institutions of large corporations of our country and directly participate the research and development in the related areas of science and technology, or have special and close relationships with them." The report calls for a targeted program of gathering intelligence on all aspects of the lives of Americans engaged in high-technology work, including "intimate friends" and family members as part of the technology acquisition program. It advises "Through systematic, reasonable, effective, and careful checking and investigation covering political, financial, cultural background, and life hobbies, etc. aspects of the related key persons and their immediate family members or intimate friends we shall make targeted, active and initiative offensives of united front work to try our best to provide various preferred measures such as preferred industrial, commercial, and financial policies, special benefits, and huge funding support, etc. for their work, life, study, and career development. And to try our best to gradually make them become the matured objects of the united front work of our Party and to directly or indirectly serve and work for our Party, government, and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics."

(Comment: The authenticity of the document is yet to be verified.)