China’s Ministry of State Security announced on Friday that they have detained a military worker named Zeng on suspicion of spying for the CIA. The worker, who is employed by a military industrial group, allegedly provided military secrets to the CIA in exchange for large sums of money. According to the ministry’s statement, Zeng had been sent to Italy for study by his employer where he met an official from the U.S. embassy who turned out to be a CIA agent.
The ministry claimed that Zeng developed a psychological dependence on the U.S. official who used this opportunity to indoctrinate him with Western values. In exchange for sensitive information about China’s military, which Zeng had access to through his job, the U.S. official promised large amounts of money and assistance in facilitating the emigration of Zeng’s family to the United States.
After completing his overseas study, Zeng returned to China and allegedly continued to have secret meetings with CIA agents, providing them with key intelligence and collecting funds for espionage purposes. The ministry stated that the suspect has been detained and the case is currently under further investigation.
This latest accusation of espionage is part of an ongoing series of incidents between China and the United States. Just last week, two U.S. Navy sailors were arrested for allegedly providing military secrets to China. The relationship between the two countries has significantly deteriorated, especially after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon earlier this year that had flown over U.S. territory.