A Chinese intelligence officer has been convicted in US federal court of economic espionage in an alleged state-backed effort to steal technology from US and French aerospace firms, the Justice Department said, Al Jazeera reports.
Xu Yanjun, an official in the Jiangsu province foreign intelligence office of the Ministry of State Security, was found guilty on Friday in the Cincinnati court on two counts of conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage, and three counts relating to trade secret theft.
The economic espionage charges carry a maximum of 15 years in prison each and a fine of up to $5m, while the other charges bring up to 10 years in prison each.
Xu was one of 11 Chinese nationals, including two intelligence officers, named in October 2018 indictments for involvement in a five-year scheme to steal technology from Cincinnati-based GE Aviation, one of the world’s leading aircraft engine manufacturers, and France’s Safran Group, which was working with GE on engine development.
“Xu attempted to steal technology related to GE Aviation’s exclusive composite aircraft engine fan, which no other company in the world has been able to duplicate, to benefit the Chinese state,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
