A Chinese company linked to the CCP bought land directly outside Grand Forks Air Force Base – and Washington did almost nothing.
Now a CCP intelligence operative has paid $8.4 million for a building 650 feet from the White House.
And a former CIA officer said the man who bought it has one skill that makes the purchase dangerous.
How a CCP Espionage Operative With Four Government Posts Bought His Way to Pennsylvania Avenue
Philip Qiu – known in Chinese government records as Qiu Feili – completed the purchase of the century-old Securities Building at 729 15th Street NW in Washington, D.C. on July 21, 2026, according to property filings reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Qiu is not a typical real estate investor.
His career began as a detective in Shanghai's Criminal Investigation Team, a unit that operates as a local arm of China's Ministry of Public Security – what former CIA operations officer Bryan Dean Wright calls "a mash-up of DHS and FBI."
By October 2011, Qiu was enrolled in a Shanghai Jiaotong University master's program where students carried rifles and wore camouflage fatigues during military exercises.
A university announcement cited by the DCNF described what happened during those exercises: Qiu "served as a commander in the Red-Blue Battle" and, according to a separate passage in the same document, "achieved the best individual sniper record" with 42 shots.
The United Front Work Department Network Behind the Purchase
Qiu's ties to Chinese state security didn’t end with his detective badge.
He has held at least three positions in arms of the United Front Work Department – the CCP organ the House Select Committee on China describes as operating a "blend of engagement, influence activities, and intelligence operations" used to shape foreign policy and acquire advanced technology.
His highest-ranking role is chairman of the Shanghai Overseas Chinese Foundation, which Chinese government records describe as the only charity inside the Shanghai UFWD system – where he has referred to the CCP as "our party" and organized events in its name.
Qiu also served as honorary chairman of the Hong Kong Immigration Department Staff Association, through which he organized introductions between Hong Kong students and Shanghai SWAT personnel as recently as 2024.
What a Chinese National Security Threat Looks Like 650 Feet From the Oval Office
Wright laid out for the DCNF what a trained intelligence operative gains from a building that close to the White House.
"This property allows access for big splashy intel ops as well as for more classic ops – like a listening post or Stingray-like systems to collect phone calls, text messages, and digital exhaust," he said.
The communications of senior White House staff, Secret Service agents, and executive branch officials are now within range of a building Qiu legally owns.
Wright went further.
"But what's especially alarming are emerging ops that properties like this allow – like hidden drone swarms or shipping container missiles," he said. "This kind of property is where the next 9/11 will come from."
Gordon Chang, author and leading China expert, left no wiggle room: "No Chinese citizen should be permitted to own, lease, or occupy any real estate that gives him or her the ability to surveil any sensitive federal installation. No ifs, ands, or buts."
Michael Lucci, founder of State Armor – a national security-focused policy organization – called the security risks "screamingly obvious."
"CCP intelligence agents have been caught buying property around military installations and critical infrastructure where they commit espionage in preparation of sabotage," Lucci told the DCNF.
"We need government action to force the sale of the commercial property controlled by the CCP associate and a ban on this happening in the future."
Why CFIUS Could Not Stop This Chinese Property Purchase
Federal law handed Qiu the opening. He walked through it.
Trump moved early. His February 2025 executive memorandum directed CFIUS – the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States – to block Chinese investments across critical sectors and guard real estate near sensitive government facilities. Trump has since used that authority to block two separate Chinese acquisitions of American businesses.
But the Securities Building purchase slipped through anyway.
Congress has introduced legislation to close the gap. The Protect Our Bases Act, led by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, would require CFIUS to maintain updated records of sensitive facilities and expand mandatory review of foreign real estate purchases near them.
A separate bill – the Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites from Foreign Adversaries Act – would create a new category of "elevated risk real estate transactions" triggering automatic review of purchases near military installations and intelligence facilities.
Neither bill has reached the President's desk.
In the meantime, a man who trained as a sniper, served four CCP posts, and pledged in writing to execute Xi Jinping's agenda owns a building with a direct line of sight to the Oval Office.
Sources:
- Philip Lenczycki, "EXCLUSIVE: CCP Intelligence Official Buys Building Steps From White House," The Daily Caller, August 13, 2026.
- "Scott, Colleagues Lead Effort to Strengthen Review of Foreign Land Purchases Near Sensitive U.S. Military Sites," Senate Banking Committee, June 18, 2025.
- "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Encourages Foreign Investment While Protecting National Security," White House, February 21, 2025.
- "New Bill Bars China, Other Adversaries From Buying US Farmland, Real Estate," Military.com, May 8, 2026.
- "Moolenaar Introduces Bill to Stop China From Acquiring U.S. Farmland," House Select Committee on the CCP, May 7, 2026.