Six Chinese Spies Charged in US for Stealing Trade Secrets

Six Chinese nationals are facing jail time after the US court charged them for using the technology to benefit universities and companies controlled by China.

Alleged economic and security espionage involving Chinese hackers has long been a concern of Washington.

Among the group is Hao Zhang, a professor in Tianjin University who allegedly led the group to steal trade secrets from a number of American companies. Zhang has been arrested while the other five are believe to be hiding in China.

According to a US Justice Department Indictment, FBI has been following the activities of Zhang and another Tianjin University professor, Wei Pang for a decade and finally caught red handed. The two allegedly plotted together to steal FBAR technology from their US employers, chipmakers Avago Technologies Ltd (AVGO.O) and Skyworks Solutions Inc (SWKS.O).

The pair and others allegedly then set up a company at Tianjin to manufacture FBARs using the stolen technology.

“The defendants leveraged their access to and knowledge of sensitive US technologies to illegally obtain and share US trade secrets with [the Chinese government] for economic advantage,” said John Carlin, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

The charges against the six could exacerbate tensions between China and the United States, coming two days after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s China visit was overshadowed by concerns over Beijing’s maritime ambitions in the South China Sea.

“The Chinese government expresses strong concern about the relevant matter and we are checking further details,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, told reporters at a regular press briefing.

Prosecutors identified the other four suspects as Jinping Chen, 41, a professor and a member of the board of directors for ROFS Microsystems, Chong Zhou, 26, a Tianjin University graduate student and design engineer at ROFS Microsystems, Huisui Zhang, 34, who studied with Pang and Zhang, and Zhao Gang, 39, who is the general manager of ROFS Microsystems.

The defendants will face up to 50 years in US prison according to US court.

/Oto Melara/ Assisted Press

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