The programme began under the Trump administration as an effort to root out economic espionage, but drew criticism for falling short of that stated goal while just targeting academics and researchers of Chinese descent.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, in an announcement made during a talk at the National Security Institute at George Mason University, said that after a review of the programme, he has concluded that the China Initiative is "not the right approach" to countering national security threats. "Instead, the current threat landscape, demands a broader approach."

"Make no mistake -- we will be relentless in defending our country from China. But our review convinced us that a new approach is needed to tackle the most severe threats."

He emphasised his belief that the department's actions were driven by genuine national security concerns, but said that by grouping cases under the China Initiative, the DOJ helped create a perception that it treats people with ties to China differently. I

Instead, he announced a new strategy focused broadly on threats from all hostile countries, which hopefully does not mean that it will be targeting "people who are not from around here" with “ways different from ours.”

Olsen began a review of the initiative in November, during which he said he heard concerns from the civil rights community about racial bias. He also said he heard concerns from the academic community that prosecutions of researchers for grant fraud and other charges had a chilling effect.

His National Security Division will take a "supervisory" approach to academic integrity and research security prosecutions, but that will not affect pending cases against academics scheduled to go to trial. "I am comfortable with them going forward," he said.