The New York Times publicised on October 10, that Yanjun Xu, a Deputy Division Director in a regional office of China’s Ministry of State Security (MoSS) was arrested in Belgium and brought to the United States to face espionage charges.  William Priestap, the F.B.I.’s Assistant Director for Counterintelligence, said in a statement “This unprecedented extradition of a Chinese intelligence officer exposes the Chinese government’s direct oversight of economic espionage against the United States.” Yanjun Xu was arrested in Belgium on April 1 after being lured there in the hopes of obtaining information about GE Aviation.

Justice Department officials said his transfer will allow prosecutors to try him in federal court in Cincinnati. John C. Demers, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said “This case is not an isolated incident. It is part of an overall economic policy of developing China at American expense. We cannot tolerate a nation’s stealing our firepower and the fruits of our brainpower.”