The Cold War may be over but the fight against commercial espionage and the common criminal is never won.
Take a closer look at that fountain pen being wielded by the man at the next table. Did he just push his calculator a little closer in your direction? And what about the person sitting opposite you? Was that a glint of glass behind the buttonhole on his jacket? It is time to get paranoid, very paranoid. James Bond technology is coming to China.
Only a paper bag over your head can hide you from the CCS Spycam Video Pen, or the same firm's Body-worn Video Transmitter, but at least its Vibrating Bug Alert, hidden in your pocket, should warn you of the audio transmitter disguised as a harmless calculator.
Last week, United States surveillance and counter-surveillance experts CCS International stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight of Security China 2000 in Beijing.
The exhibition, organised by China's Ministry of Public Security, and the Social Security Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, attracted more than 300 foreign and Chinese companies looking to cash in on the mainland's crime wave.
By some estimates, criminal gangs in China now boast more than one million members. As the number of frauds, armed robberies and murders heads skywards, demand for security products booms.
Shanghai Business recently estimated that the Chinese security industry is enjoying 15 per cent annual growth. Overseas specialists cited in the trade journal Security World predict 20 per cent growth for the next three to five years.
As safety and security products become a basic family purchase, China is expected to become the second-largest security market after the US within 10 years.
"We live on bad news," admitted Adri Van der Waals, Asia Ballistics Manager for Dutch firm DSM High Performance Fibers.
"Compared with other countries, China is fairly safe, but once there is a robbery in a small town, all the business people think 'I want to arm my men and my vehicles'."
Which is good news for DSM, whose lightweight dyneema polyethylene fibre - 10 times stronger then steel - is the staple ingredient in bullet-proof vests and armoured vehicles around the world.
"Sales to China are rapidly increasing," said Mr der Waals. "Out of our total dyneema production of 400 tonnes, we will sell 70 tonnes to China this year."
The spy products marketed by CCS International, "where James Bond goes to shop", could revolutionise police work in China.
The hardware catalogue of CCS training director Thomas Brennan is the stuff of spy dreams - from Predator night vision scopes to lie-detectors, drug-analysers and encryption devices.
"We have many other products," Mr Brennan said, "but they are too sensitive to discuss". And with an enigmatic swirl, he left to pursue "top-secret" negotiations.
To boost Asia sales, CCS will open a branch in Hong Kong in "a matter of weeks".
