China intensified its campaign to crack down on U.S. spies on Monday, announcing it has arrested a 39-year-old ministry official accused of selling state secrets to the CIA.
It’s the latest in a series of espionage accusations between the two countries and comes after CIA Director William Burns claimed the agency has “made progress” on rebuilding its spy network in Beijing.
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Tensions between China and the U.S. have escalated following a series of unsettling incidents this year, including an alleged spy balloon sent from China and shot down by the United States to military encounters in the South China Sea, including China shining lasers at Philippine ships in February to firing water cannons at them in August.
Monday’s announcement from the Ministry of State Security claimed an official with the surname Hao had been recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency to become an American spy while studying in Japan.
In an unusually lengthy statement, China claimed the U.S. lured Hao in by treating him to fancy meals, sending him gifts, and paying him to help write a research paper.
Before he left Japan he allegedly signed off on “an espionage agreement with the U.S. to accept the U.S. assessment and training,” China said.
“After Hao returned to China, he tried to work in a ministry of our country according to the requirements of the CIA. He secretly met with CIA personnel many times in the country, provided information, and collected espionage funds. After the national security agency discovered Hao’s espionage activities through investigation, it launched a review in accordance with the law. The case is currently under investigation.”
The case against Hao was announced less than two weeks after the same agency claimed it rooted out another Chinese national working on behalf of the CIA. In that case, the worker, identified only as Zeng, was allegedly recruited while studying in Italy by a U.S. embassy official. The two fostered a close friendship and would frequently go on outings, to dinner parties, and to the opera.
China announced its investigation into Zeng soon after two U.S. Navy soldiers were arrested and charged with providing sensitive military information to the Chinese, including details on wartime exercises.
U.S. officials said the arrests highlighted China’s brazenness in trying to find information about U.S. military operations.
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“Through the alleged crimes committed by these defendants, sensitive military information ended up in the hands of the People’s Republic of China,” Matt Olsen, the assistant attorney general for national security at the Department of Justice, said.
He added that the charges demonstrate the Chinese government’s “determination to obtain information that is critical to our national defense by any means, so it could be used to their advantage.”
