China's surfing spies help breach the nuclear gap BEIJING, May 26 (AFP) - Everybody spies, but China has been stepping up the collection of sensitive material in recent years, according to western experts in Beijing. US accusations that China stole US nuclear secrets for more than 20 years have again turned the spotlight on the communist giant's intelligence machine. The traditional cloak and dagger role of the spy has, however, been largely overtaken by the age of mass communication and China is no different. "There are hardly any real spies left, 95 percent of the information comes off the Internet or legally from laboratories and research centres, especially American ones," said one foreign military expert in Beijing. For China, the other five percent comes mainly from students and Chinese researchers working in US research centres, said the expert, who requested anonymity. "The error was in believing that the Chinese researchers would work only for the United States," added the official. A US House of Representatives select committee report released Tuesday said that China stole advanced US nuclear design secrets -- including the US neutron bomb and latest ballistic missile designs. The panel, headed by Representative Christopher Cox, said the spying was probably still going on and criticised US firms that were legally exporting rocket technology to China that could have military as well as civilian uses. The Chinese government has described the accusations as "absurd." And some analysts have said they are part of attempts by anti-Chinese Republicans to undermine the Clinton administration's "constructive engagement" with China. But the claims did not surprise western intelligence experts in Beijing. "Everyone spies on everyone, its well know," said one western expert, who stressed that its success depended on how the information was used. "The digestion of the information is sometimes difficult. You need an infrastructure of brains and technology to adapt what you have," the expert said. Several western intelligence officials said China has made major progress in adapting its military over the past decade, especially in the nuclear field. They estimated though that China remained between 15 and 20 years behind the major western nuclear powers. The United States, Russia and China are the only countries with a complete air, ground and sea nuclear arsenal. China's weaponry is concentrated though on the ground. It has only one nuclear submarine, the Xia, which can carry 12 nuclear warheads. Its planes are considered too old to constitute a major threat to the other powers. According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, a magazine published by American researchers opposed to nuclear weapons, China comes fourth in the nuclear weapon stakes, in terms of warheads. Russia and the United States have more than 10,000 warheads each, France has around 450, China 400 and Britain 260. "Nuclear weapons were not an urgent priority," said one Asian expert. "They had to develop it because they were very backward." The expert said China's military machine had concentrated on developing conventional weapons, with the emphasis on missiles. China's major security concerns in recent years have been nationalist Taiwan, which it claims is a renegade province, and the South China Sea, where it has disputed territorial claims.  