Archive · 6 Aug 2026
FBI's Kash Patel expands law enforcement ties with China, Russia
The FBI is a team in America that catches very bad people who break the law.
Kash Patel is the boss of the FBI, and he made a new deal with police from China and Russia.
China and Russia are countries that America usually does not get along with.
The three teams decided to help each other catch criminals who sell dangerous drugs, trick people on the internet, or hurt children.
Police from China visited America, and FBI agents visited China to work on cases together.
They even did a big rescue in a city called Dubai and freed thousands of workers who were trapped.
Some people who used to work for the FBI think this is a bad idea because China and Russia might use the visits to spy on America.
Mr. Patel says it is worth it because they catch more criminals and keep people safe.
He promises America will still stay close with its old friends like Canada, Britain, and Australia.
FBI Director Kash Patel, appointed by President Donald Trump, forged new law enforcement partnerships with China and Russia over the past year to combat fentanyl trafficking, cyber fraud and child sexual exploitation.
The cooperation includes personnel exchanges, joint raids and four working groups covering cyber fraud, violent crimes against children, counternarcotics and fugitives.
In 'Operation Sand Dollar' in May, the FBI, China's Ministry of Public Security and Dubai police raided a cyber scam center, making 300 arrests and seizing $300 million.
Critics, including former FBI supervisory agent Jeff Crocker, warn the partnerships give China and Russia cover to infiltrate U.S. facilities and pose serious counterintelligence risks.
Patel returned from Beijing in late July and a trip to Russia is tentatively planned for October, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio called China's fentanyl cooperation 'a work in progress.'
- Who
- FBI Director Kash Patel, working with China's Ministry of Public Security and Russian law enforcement agencies.
- What
- The FBI forged new law enforcement partnerships with China and Russia to combat transnational crime, including fentanyl trafficking, cyber fraud and child sexual exploitation.
- When
- Over the past year; Patel returned from a Beijing trip in late July, and a trip to Russia is tentatively planned for October.
- Where
- United States, China, Russia, and Dubai, where 'Operation Sand Dollar' targeted a cyber scam center.
- Why
- To gain allies in fighting transnational crime and secure 'wins for America,' though critics warn of counterintelligence risks from sharing information with adversaries.
Critics warn of espionage and infiltration risks
Supporters cite concrete crime-fighting wins
Sharing information with adversaries
Critics warn of espionage and infiltration risks
Giving Chinese and Russian officials access to U.S. intelligence facilities, personnel and contractors creates enormous counterintelligence risks and offers cover for espionage and infiltration.
Supporters cite concrete crime-fighting wins
Patel says the exchanges are narrow, reciprocal and limited to four specific crime types, and that every foreign visitor is vetted with counterintelligence measures.
Whether cooperation is worth it
Critics warn of espionage and infiltration risks
Jeff Crocker, a former FBI supervisory agent, calls China and Russia 'our enemies, period,' and experts like Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution say it is hard to measure how much cooperation actually drove the decline in U.S. fentanyl overdoses.
Supporters cite concrete crime-fighting wins
Patel argues the results justify engagement, citing Operation Sand Dollar's 300 arrests and $300 million seized, fentanyl precursor seizures, and the takedown of a child exploitation network.
A break with decades of U.S. policy
Critics warn of espionage and infiltration risks
The partnerships reverse long-standing U.S. policy that treated China and Russia as exporters of crime and espionage, and could normalize ties with regimes undermining U.S. interests.
Supporters cite concrete crime-fighting wins
Patel and Rubio describe the cooperation as a 'work in progress' that complements rather than replaces the Five Eyes alliance, and Patel says the playbook could be used with other countries.
- FBI Director
- Kash Patel
- Partner countries
- China and Russia
- Working groups
- Cyber fraud, violent crimes against children, counternarcotics, fugitive task force
- Operation Sand Dollar
- 300 arrests, $300 million seized, thousands of trafficked workers freed in Dubai
- Fentanyl-related actions
- 9 arrests; two chemical production facilities and three websites shut down
- Child abuse network
- 16 suspects arrested in June in an operation with the FBI's Omaha field office
- Patel's Beijing trip
- Late July
- Planned Russia trip
- October