Chinese Intel Officer Sentenced to 20 Years for Aviation Espionage

: Xu was convicted for conspiring and attempting to commit "economic espionage and steal trade secrets from multiple U.S. aviation and aerospace companies."

Michael Wildes

Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 04:41 PM ET

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Federal Judge Timothy Black presided over the trial, which took place in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. [Courtesy: US Attorney Southern District of Ohio]

Key Takeaways:

Chinese intelligence officer Yanjun Xu was sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempting to steal trade secrets from U.S. aviation and aerospace companies.
Xu's espionage involved recruiting expert employees from companies like G.E. Aviation to visit China under the guise of delivering university presentations to acquire proprietary information.
This case marks the first time a Chinese Ministry of State Security officer has been extradited, convicted, and sentenced in the U.S., setting a significant precedent.
U.S. officials highlighted the conviction as a "wake-up call," underscoring that trade secret theft is integral to China's state-sponsored efforts to modernize its industries.

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Chinese intelligence officer Yanjun Xu, who worked for China’s Ministry of State Security, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday after being convicted for attempting to steal trade secrets from U.S. aviation and aerospace companies.

Federal Judge Timothy Black presided over the trial, which took place in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. It’s a lesser sentence than the 25 years that federal prosecutors sought after a jury convicted Xu in November 2021.