Whenever I see threads and comments about privacy-related or sensitive topics, I often see concerns about China in particular stealing all that data.

Why is China, a country across a vast ocean, is seen as a bigger threat in that regard than US itself? Unlike Chinese, the local government does have power over its residents and can actually use this information against you (and it does have a record for doing exactly that). The only places where Chinese espionage would be a concern (military, high-tech industry) lay way beyond what an everyday American faces regularly.

So, is it a new red scare, or is there a substance behind it that I fail to see?