China rejects US claims spy chief tried to steal trade secrets

CHINA has rejected US espionage claims against a Chinese national arrested in Belgium and extradited to America as mere fabrications plucked “out of thin air,” adding to tensions between Beijing and Washington.

The US Department of Justice on Wednesday charged Xu Yanjun with attempting to steal trade secrets from major US aviation and aerospace companies, including GE Aviation, a jet engine supplier for US military aircraft.

Mr Xu, a director for China’s intelligence and security agency, appears to have been lured to Belgium as part of a global sting operation, according to the 16-page indictment. Mr Xu, who thought he was attending a meeting to receive proprietary information about jet fan-blade designs, was instead arrested under a US warrant on April 1 and extradited to the US.

“US aerospace companies invest decades of time and billions of dollars in research,” said Bill Glassman, a US justice department attorney. “In contrast … a Chinese intelligence officer tried to acquire that same, hard-earned innovation through theft.”

Tensions between the US and China have heightened significantly amid a trade war. The US has accused China of implementing a military, economic and political campaign to undermine Washington and bolster Chinese influence – claims that China denies as “unwarranted” and “ridiculous.”

Mr Xu’s case – the first time the US has extradited a suspected Chinese spy – indicates the US is unlikely to back down on China anytime soon.

For years, the US has indicted in absentia alleged Chinese spies amid growing evidence of Beijing using espionage and hacking to modernise.

There is “zero” chance Beijing will allow extradition of its citizens from its own soil, said Scott Harold, a policy director at the think tank RAND Corp. The US and China do not have an extra- dition treaty, and China generally denies allegations of spying and hacking.

But US officials insist such activity is rampant and damaging to American security interests.

Mr Xu, for instance, invited US engineers and experts at key companies on all expenses-paid trips to present talks in China, asking them to meet local scientists and bring specific documents.

Such experts are often targets for Chinese hacking and spying, and Mr Xu’s activities should not come as a surprise. “In a world where everything is connected … you can be hacked; it can be stolen,” said Mr Harold.