China's Cyber Superpower Status Confirmed by Google Threat Intelligence

China has officially achieved the status of a “cyber superpower,” according to Sandra Joyce, Vice President of Google’s Threat Intelligence Group. This declaration, made during the Google Cloud Next 2025 event, highlights China’s advanced cyber capabilities, including sophisticated espionage tactics and evasion techniques. The announcement underscores the growing challenge of monitoring and countering Chinese cyber operations, which now rival those of traditional state actors like Russia and North Korea.¹

Key Findings from Google Threat Intelligence

Google’s assessment identifies several critical trends in China’s cyber operations. Chinese threat actors now employ rented infrastructure refreshed every 30 days to evade detection, creating a “visibility gap” for defenders. Unlike Russian or North Korean groups, Chinese operators prioritize espionage over destructive attacks, focusing on long-term intelligence gathering.² Recent campaigns, such as the “Salt Typhoon” attacks targeting U.S. critical infrastructure, demonstrate these capabilities in action.³

Google’s report also notes China’s qualitative leaps in cyber operations, positioning it as an “unstoppable force” by 2025. This includes the use of commodity malware for initial breaches, followed by custom backdoors for persistence. The avoidance of destructive attacks allows Chinese operators to maintain plausible deniability while achieving strategic objectives.⁴

Technical Tactics and Countermeasures

Chinese cyber operations leverage several advanced techniques:

Infrastructure Rotation: Frequent changes in command-and-control (C2) infrastructure to avoid blacklisting.
Edge Device Targeting: Exploiting firewalls and network edge devices to bypass traditional defenses.
AI-Driven Evasion: Use of machine learning to adapt attack patterns in real-time.

Google has responded with AI-driven security tools, such as Google Unified Security, designed to accelerate threat detection and reduce response times from months to days.⁵ Collaboration with law enforcement for infrastructure takedowns has also been emphasized as a key countermeasure.

Geopolitical Implications

China’s cyber dominance aligns with its broader geopolitical strategy, including efforts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically. Recent shifts, such as Honduras and Nauru severing ties with Taiwan in 2023–2024, reflect China’s growing influence.⁶ Cyber operations serve as a force multiplier in these efforts, enabling intelligence gathering and covert influence campaigns.

Relevance to Security Professionals

For security teams, the rise of China as a cyber superpower necessitates a shift in defensive strategies. Key recommendations include:

Enhanced Monitoring: Focus on edge devices and less-monitored network segments.
AI Integration: Adopt AI tools to match the speed and adaptability of Chinese threat actors.
Collaborative Defense: Share threat intelligence with industry peers and law enforcement.

As Sandra Joyce noted,

“China has completed their journey to cyber superpower status… Their capabilities are increasing in very concerning ways.”¹

Conclusion

China’s emergence as a cyber superpower represents a significant shift in the global threat landscape. Security teams must adapt to this new reality by leveraging advanced tools and collaborative strategies. The technical and geopolitical implications of this development will likely shape cyber defense priorities for years to come.