if xi were to die tomorrow we’d have no idea who would replace him

Wouldn’t paying attention to China in a journalistic and academic mode be more effective to understanding China at much lower price than implementing a network of treasonous spies? It would certainly be less bellicose and more diplomatic.

US intelligence doesn’t seek to understand. It’s a corrupting agent. They don’t want to know who’s replacing Xi; they want to decide who’s replacing Xi.