China arrests arms company employee for passing secrets as CIA spy

The arrest of the 52-year-old defence worker comes at a time of increasing anti-espionage rhetoric from Beijing and Washington

The accused was recruited while on a study tour to Italy and paid to provide ‘core information’, China’s anti-espionage agency said

Reading Time:2 minutes

The arrest of a Chinese defence worker accused of spying for the CIA comes at a time of heightened anti-espionage rhetoric by China and the US. Photo: AP

Published: 12:19pm, 11 Aug 2023Updated: 12:37pm, 14 Aug 2023

An employee of a Chinese defence firm has been arrested, accused by supplying “core information” to the CIA, China’s anti-espionage agency said on Friday.

The announcement by the Ministry of State Security – Beijing’s top intelligence and counter-intelligence agency – comes less than a month after CIA head William Burns said the US agency had “made progress” in rebuilding its spy networks in China.

It also coincides with a ramping up of anti-espionage rhetoric from both Beijing and Washington.

In a rare move, the ministry named the CIA and spelled out that the 52-year-old defence worker, surnamed Zeng, had been recruited by the agency. The ministry has used terms like “foreign agent” and “certain countries” in most previous cases.

Zeng, who worked for an arms supplier with access to “important confidential” information, was sent by his unit to study in Italy, according to the ministry statement.

“Seth, an official of the US embassy in Italy, took the initiative to get acquainted with Zeng” and gradually developed a close relationship through “activities such as dinner parties, outings, and watching operas”.