Chinese professor accused of stealing trade secrets for Huawei pleads guilty to lesser charges

Bo Mao, a visiting professor at the University of Texas, will be allowed to return to China after prosecutors agreed to dismiss more serious charges

The case is the latest in which Chinese scientists have been accused of spying or theft

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The US has singled out Huawei as a security risk. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:26pm, 5 Dec 2020Updated: 3:26pm, 5 Dec 2020

A Chinese professor who was accused of stealing trade secrets for Huawei Technologies Co pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and will be allowed to return to China after he is sentenced later this month.

Bo Mao, a computer science professor at Xiamen University in China and a visiting professor at the University of Texas, pleaded guilty to a single count of making a false statement.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, agreed to dismiss more serious counts of conspiracy and trade-secrets theft.

Mao’s case is the latest involving Chinese scientists who were initially accused of spying or theft in the US but were later allowed to plead to lesser charges.

Bo Mao admitted making a false statement. Photo: Handout

The US made similar deals with a Chinese professor working at Ohio State University and a Harvard-sponsored Chinese researcher who was accused of trying to smuggle vials of cancer cells to China.

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