Chinese military trade firm executive held for leaking secrets to two countries
A Chinese military trading company executive has been arrested for allegedly leaking sensitive defence information to intelligence agencies from two countries, China’s top spy and anti-espionage agency said on Monday.
Public disclosures involving a Chinese national recruited simultaneously by multiple separate foreign intelligence agencies are extremely rare, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Espionage, especially relating to military secrets in China, attracts the death penalty. The Ministry of State Security on Monday outlined the case of the suspect, identified only by his surname Zhang, in an article published on an official social media account.
The report did not name the two foreign countries involved, referring to them only as “Country A” and “Country B”. It also did not name the Chinese company or provide an exact timeline for the case. According to the ministry, Zhang was fluent in an unknown number of foreign languages after years of studying abroad.
He returned to China and was highly regarded by his employer, frequently handling international business for the arms-trading firm.
The ministry said Zhang was first recruited by a foreign spy agency “several years ago” at a diplomatic reception, where a diplomat from Country A named “Lucas” exchanged contact information with him.
