Chinese Spy Arrested for Stealing Aviation Secrets

As it turns out, when a Chinese bureaucrat invites you on a free trip to Beijing, he might be after something other than your companionship.

The Justice Department on Wednesday publicized the arrest of a senior officer from China’s Ministry of State Security on espionage charges.

Based on court papers, the alleged spy Yanjun Xu has been aggressively stealing US aviation information by setting up secret meetings in China with a former employee of General Electric under the cover of academic visits.

For five years, Xu has been hiding his true identity and posing as an official for a provincial technology association. A number of aviation experts and engineers have taken the bait. He pestered them for confidential materials belonging to American companies. This year, he obtained GE Aviation’s list of technical topics regarding composite materials in engine fan blades.

In return, he paid for their trips to China. Among other things.

In April, Xu arranged a follow-up meeting in Europe with the former GE employee. Little did Xu expect that a dramatic international sting operation awaited his arrival. Belgian authorities detained him behalf of the U.S. and, earlier this week, transferred him to U.S. custody.

According to GE, its former employee did not leak any information that would post a threat to national security.

“For months, GE Aviation has cooperated with the FBI investigation,” the company said in a statement. “No sensitive information relating to military programs was targeted or obtained.”

The U.S. government confirmed GE’s claim. Officials revealed that internal controls have protected most of GE’s proprietary secrets. Neither did the former employee leak any information related to national defense.

Xu’s arrest and extradition added to the recent escalation of hostility between China and the U.S.

Vice President Mike Pence just last week accused China of stealing all American technologies it could get its hands on in an effort to outperform the U.S. amidst today’s technological revolution—a ” wholesale theft of American technology,” as he called it.

John Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, agreed that Xu’s action pointed to a larger trend: “It is part of an overall economic policy of developing China at American expense”.

“We cannot tolerate a nation’s stealing our firepower and the fruits of our brainpower,” he added.

Beijing on Thursday denied the accusation altogether. China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang told reporters that the U.S. allegations are “something made out of thin air.”

He encouraged U.S. authorities to handle the case “fairly in accordance with law” and respect Xu’s “legitimate rights and interests.”

Caught in a deteriorating Sino-U.S. relation, Xu’s case set a precedent. It marked the first time America had ever indicted foreign personnel on charges of cyber intrusions.

Former prosecutor Christopher Ott saw this open declaration of Xu’s intelligence role as “an expression of confidence in the evidence.” U.S. officials believed they had sufficient confidence to convict Xu without having to reveal any of its intelligence assets.

Featured Image via AP/John Minchillo