ASSESSMENTS

The United States Bites Back Against Chinese Industrial Espionage

Oct 11, 2018 | 03:22 GMT

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) greets U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) prior to a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on Monday, Oct. 8, in Beijing, China.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) greets U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) prior to a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on Monday, Oct. 8, in Beijing, China.

(DAISUKE SUZUKI/Pool/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • In an unusual turn of events, the latest China-U.S. industrial espionage case resulted in the detention of a Chinese intelligence officer.

  • The arrest is a warning to the Chinese Ministry of State Security that the United States takes industrial espionage threats seriously.

  • Such action is, however, unlikely to stop Beijing's aggressive behavior.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Oct. 10 that charges would be levied against a Chinese intelligence officer for conspiring and attempting to conduct economic espionage for state gain and theft of trade secrets. The officer, Yanjun Xu, is reportedly employed by China's Ministry of State Security. Belgian authorities arrested him April 1 in Brussels based on a U.S. criminal complaint filed March 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Xu was indicted April 4, and his indictment was unsealed Oct. 10 in connection with his extradition from Belgium to the United States....

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