At the transnational level, organized crime is a trading and financial network engaged in the provision of prohibited comities and services. Ethnic Chinese criminal groups represent a potent criminal threat to the global economy and global security. They operate through individual and organizational networks, and group members share common characteristics. The groups function by controlling instruments vital to international trade and domestic distribution. Transnational Chinese criminal groups are currently engaged in the following activities on global scale: drug production, smuggling, and distribution; alien smuggling, principally to the United States; weapons smuggling and distribution from Russian and Chinese military stores; theft and smuggling of luxury automobiles, yachts, and consumer goods; currency counterfeiting; theft of high-technology items; illegal manipulation and trading in commodities and stock markets; and smuggling, piracy, and theft of basic agricultural commodities. Ways in which Chinese criminal groups operate and maintain their networks on a global scale are examined. Illicit international trade activities of Taiwanese criminal groups, links between criminal groups in Mainland China and Taiwan, and partnerships between Chinese criminal groups and government officials are discussed. 88 notes and 1 table