Chinese private companies, some of which are linked to military institutions, have begun offering information that exposes details of the movement of U.S. forces in the region. This comes while Beijing has officially tried to maintain its distance from developments in the Iran war.
The Washington Post reported on Saturday, April 4, that since the start of the Iran war, users active on Western and Chinese social media platforms have encountered widely viewed posts containing information about U.S. military activities.
Among the information published in these posts are details about equipment deployed at U.S. bases, the movement of American aircraft carriers, and precise analyses of the process of preparing military aircraft for strikes against the Iranian regime.
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The Washington Post added that this information has emerged from a new and rapidly growing market: Chinese companies, some of which have ties to the military, combine artificial intelligence with open-source data to offer information that, by their own account, can “expose” the movement of U.S. forces.
Analysts believe the activity of private companies could provide an opportunity for Beijing to support its partners indirectly. In this way, China does not become officially involved in the conflicts and preserves its distance from the fighting.
The Iranian regime is one of China’s longstanding allies and an important oil supplier for the country. However, Beijing has refrained from direct entry into the Iran war and is trying to preserve its position as a peace mediator.
On March 11, CNN, citing a Western intelligence official, reported that Russia had provided the Iranian regime with advanced drone tactics so they could be used to attack U.S. interests and the Gulf states.
On March 6, The Washington Post also wrote that Moscow was providing intelligence assistance to Tehran for targeting American forces.
The intelligence competition between China and the United States
The Washington Post went on to write that U.S. officials and intelligence analysts differ in their assessment of the real threat level posed by Chinese private companies.
Some believe such tools can be effectively placed at the disposal of U.S. rivals, while others question their practical effectiveness.
Private companies have long relied on open-source data—such as flight trackers, satellite imagery, and maritime shipping data—to produce analytical intelligence.
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence capabilities in Chinese companies has made these tools far more powerful and has made it harder to conceal U.S. military movements.
On April 3, The Telegraph wrote that five sanctioned ships had transported a cargo of sodium perchlorate from Zhuhai Port in China to Iran. This material can be used in the production of hundreds of ballistic missiles.
About one month ago, The Washington Post had also reported that two ships belonging to the Iranian regime, accused by the United States of supplying materials for Tehran’s ballistic missile program, had departed from a Chinese port toward Iran.
“MizarVision” and satellite image processing using artificial intelligence
The Washington Post then introduced one of the Chinese private companies active in the field of military intelligence services. The company, called MizarVision, was established in 2021 in the city of Hangzhou.
Using a combination of Western and Chinese data processed by artificial intelligence, MizarVision records the activity of U.S. military bases in the Middle East, tracks naval movements, and identifies the location and number of aircraft and missile defense systems.
Images published by the company on social media have provided details of the increase in U.S. forces in the Middle East before the start of the war, including the transit of the aircraft carriers USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln.
The company has also published precise information on the number and type of aircraft stationed at Israel’s Ovda Air Base, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base, and Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base.
It appears that MizarVision’s satellite imagery includes part of the commercial visual data supplied by American and European companies, including Ventor and Airbus.
In addition, Chinese state media previously reported that MizarVision also uses imagery from the reputable company Planet Labs.
A person working in the private sector of China’s defense industry told The Washington Post that the company uses artificial intelligence to analyze publicly available satellite imagery in the West but does not have access to real-time images from American sources.
U.S. officials and some former intelligence analysts, in interviews with The Washington Post, expressed doubt about the ability of Chinese companies to penetrate America’s classified communications systems.
At the same time, they warned that the growth and expansion of such companies could be cause for concern.
