Pak Sahafat – A court in America sentenced a Chinese citizen to 20 years in prison for trying to steal US trade secrets.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency, the NPR news website wrote on Wednesday night, the first Chinese intelligence officer to be extradited to the United States after being arrested in a European country has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for trying to steal high-tech aviation trade secrets from an American company.
Yanjun Zhou was convicted last November by a federal jury in Cincinnati, Ohio of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, conspiracy to steal trade secrets, attempted economic espionage and theft of trade secrets.
US officials have said the case is an example of China’s relentless intelligence operations against US companies to steal top technology.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement: As proven in court, the defendant is a Chinese government intelligence officer who used a wide range of techniques to steal technology and proprietary information from companies based in the United States and abroad.
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He added: Today’s sentence shows the importance of this crime and the determination of the Ministry of Justice to investigate and prosecute the efforts of the Chinese government or any other foreign power to threaten our economic and national security.
According to the US Department of Justice, Zhou is a 42-year-old citizen and an officer of the Ministry of State Security of China.
According to evidence presented at trial, Zhou attempted to steal composite technology for aircraft engine cooling systems from Cincinnati-based GE Aviation.
Prosecutors in this case have announced that Zhou invited an employee of GE Airlines to China to give a speech at one of the country’s universities. He next asked another employee for specific technical information, unaware that the employee was working with the FBI.
Zou offered to meet the employee in Europe to get more classified information, and they agreed to meet in Belgium, where Zou was arrested by authorities and extradited to the United States.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said: This case is the latest example of the continuous attacks of the Chinese government on the economic security and, as a result, the national security of the United States. As long as the Chinese government continues to violate our laws and threaten American industry and institutions, the FBI will work with partners around the world to bring those responsible to justice.