Beijing: A Chinese national who worked for a military industrial company and was allegedly offered money and immigration to the US in exchange for providing the US with sensitive military information has been discovered by China, according to a report on Friday by the state broadcaster.
According to the CCTV report, Zeng, who was considered a classified person, was sent to Italy to further his education and made friends with a representative of the US embassy while there.
According to the report, Zeng was discovered to have signed an espionage contract with the US and received training before returning to China to engage in espionage activities.
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Without providing any further information, CCTV stated that "compulsory measures" had been taken against Zeng.
China has increased the scrutiny it applies to what it considers espionage activities.
The state security ministry stated at the beginning of this month that the country should encourage its citizens to participate in counterespionage work, including by setting up avenues for people to report suspicious activity as well as by praising and rewarding them.
According to the ministry, a system must be put in place that makes it "normal" for the general public to take part in counterspionage.
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China unveiled a law against espionage last month that forbids the transfer of any data pertaining to national security and interests without defining those terms.
While the European Union ambassador to China had stated in May that he was unsure whether the opening up of the Chinese economy was compatible with the counter-espionage law, the new law alarmed the United States.
Speaking on behalf of the US State Department, Matt Miller said, "We do have concerns over it. Certainly encouraging citizens to spy on each other is something that is of great concern."
"We are closely monitoring the implementation of China's new counter-espionage law as we have been, which as written greatly expands the scope of what activities are considered espionage," he declared.
Numerous Chinese and foreign nationals have been detained and arrested in China in recent years on suspicion of espionage, including an executive from the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma in March. Since September 2020, Australian journalist Cheng Lei has been detained on suspicion by China of divulging state secrets to another nation.
China has claimed that it is threatened by spies at a time when Western countries, most notably the United States, have accused China of espionage and cyberattacks, which Beijing has denied.