US :: Chinese spy targeted aviation trade secrets

A Chinese spy who allegedly attempted to steal trade secrets from several American aviation and aerospace companies has been charged and extradited to the US. The US has arrested and indicted an alleged spy for China's Ministry of State Security on charges of economic espionage and trying to steal trade secrets from several US aviation & aerospace companies.

Chinese operative Yanjun Xu was detained in Belgium in April after an FBI probe and extradited to the United States on Tuesday. The Washington Post reported he was lured to Belgium by US agents. The FBI called it an unprecedented extradition and said the indictment showed the direct oversight of China's government in economic espionage against the United States.The charges come as Washington increases pressure on Beijing over its trade policies and alleged theft of US intellectual property.

A US Department of Justice statement said Xu, a deputy division director for the State Security Department of China's Jiangsu province, targeted several US aerospace companies, including GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric.

The indictment against Xu says he targeted aviation firms since about December 2013, it goes on to state that he made contact with experts working for the firms and recruited them to travel to China, often for the initial purpose of delivering a university presentation and paying their costs and a stipend.

John Demers, the assistant US attorney-general for national security, said the case was not an isolated incident."It is part of an overall economic policy of developing China at US expense," he said. "We cannot tolerate a nation stealing our firepower and the fruits of our brainpower." In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang called the accusations a "pure fabrication".

"We hope the American side can justly, and in accordance with the law, safeguard the legal rights of the Chinese national," Lu told a regular news briefing on Thursday. Xu's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The maximum penalty for conspiracy and attempt to commit economic espionage is 15 years, while conspiracy and attempt to steal trade secrets is 10 years ...To read the full story please Click Here to Login or Register

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