China said it has uncovered a Chinese national suspected of spying for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Chinese National Hired by CIA
State television China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Friday that a Chinese national surnamed Zeng had been recruited by a CIA agent based in Italy.
Zeng, who had worked for a military-industrial group, was hired to divulge China’s top military secrets to the US intelligence. Zeng had been sent to Italy for further studies by the military-industrial group, when he became acquainted with the US agent.
According to the report, Zeng gradually became “psychologically dependent” on the CIA agent after the two developed a “close” relationship through “dinner parties, outings, and trips to the opera.”
It further reported that after succeeding in “shaking” Zeng’s political stance, the CIA agent sought to retrieve sensitive information about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from Zeng, but did not say when the events took place.
China has uncovered an alleged spy for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a Chinese national who worked for a military industrial group and was offered money and immigration to the U.S. in exchange for sensitive military information.
— Duan Dang (@duandang) August 11, 2023
The report also did not specify Zeng’s gender but said the person was born in 1971. It also referred to the CIA agent as “Seth.”
Furthermore, CCTV said that Zeng had signed an espionage agreement with the US and received training before returning to China. Upon returning to China, Zeng allegedly provided “core” intelligence to the US on multiple occasions, in exchange for “money and immigration.”
CCTV also said that coercive measures, which normally means detention, have been taken against Zeng.
Counter Espionage Efforts
In recent months, China has been ramping up its counter-espionage measures. Earlier this month, Beijing encouraged Chinese citizens to join counter-espionage work, including creating channels for individuals to report suspicious activity and rewarding such actions.
The ministry said that a system that allows “normal” people to participate in counter-espionage should be established.
Washington said that it has been closely monitoring the implementation of China’s expanded anti-spying law.