U.S. Prosecution of Chinese Scientists May Have Been Abandoned in Negotiations With Beijing

After uncovering Chinese efforts to smuggle biological samples into the country, Washington may have negotiated with Beijing to drop the charges against those allegedly responsible.

On February 25, defense attorneys for three accused Chinese scientists alleged that the Department of Justice (DOJ) negotiated with Chinese authorities to end the prosecution. The University of Michigan-based trio, who were charged with aiding the smuggling of potentially lethal biological samples into the U.S., were allowed to return to China after a federal judge unexpectedly dismissed the charges on February 5.

Along with highlighting the dangers associated with U.S.-China research cooperation, the decision to prematurely end the prosecution could set a dangerous precedent for future academic espionage investigations.

Defense Attorneys Allege Chinese Consulate Negotiated With DOJ To Drop Charges

The DOJ initially charged three Chinese nationals — Xu Bai, Fengfan Zhang, and Zhiyong Zhang — with assisting Chengxuan Han, another scientist, in smuggling samples to the United States. Han, who was arrested in June, pleaded no contest to smuggling charges and was subsequently deported to China following her detention. In the charging documents, the department alleged that Han hid plasmids samples — a component found in bacteria — in a book with a hidden envelope and sent unlabeled and unauthorized petri dishes to the Michigan University laboratory. 

Defense attorneys for the three accused alleged that the Chinese consulate in Chicago had convinced the DOJ to abandon its prosecution. In a statement to the Associated Press, Ryan Cassar, one of the attorneys, claimed that China and the United States engaged in “serious talks” about the case — described by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as critical for “national and agricultural security” — leading to its unexpected dismissal. Both the DOJ and the Chinese Consulate have yet to comment publicly on the allegations.

DOJ Conducted Multiple Investigations Targeting Chinese Scientists With Military Ties

The decision to terminate the prosecution follows a series of allegations against Chinese nationals that are related to the smuggling operation. While at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), her previous university, Han conducted research with Jianfeng Liu, a dean with strong ties to the People’s Liberation Army Central Hospital, a key military research institution. HUST also hosts several military-linked artificial intelligence laboratories — a field with ties to Han’s program of study — and contributes to China’s national, military-backed bio-banking project.

Only a week before Han’s arrest, the DOJ charged another Michigan researcher, Yunqing Jian, along with her partner Zunyong Liu, on suspicion of smuggling Fusarium graminearum, a blight-causing fungus, into the United States. Both Jian and Liu previously worked at China’s Key State Laboratory of Rice Biology, which has received state funding from programs intended to illicitly acquire American technology. Separately, records at the Institute of Biotechnology at Zhejiang University indicate that Liu was also part of China’s Hundred Talents program — a government campaign intended to enable intellectual property theft.

The U.S. Should Strengthen Its Research Security Efforts

DOJ’s decision to prematurely end the prosecution, despite strong evidence backing the alleged links between those charged and the Chinese military, signals that the United States is unwilling to aggressively protect its academic research environment. Moreover, the case is not an isolated incident; China has consistently targeted American higher education to conduct intellectual property theft and further its military ambitions.

In response, the Justice Department, and the departments of Homeland Security, State, Defense, and Education, should expand screening of academics with clear or suspected ties to Beijing. The departments should preemptively block joint research projects between American universities and Chinese institutions that actively collaborate with the Chinese military.

Jack Burnham is a senior research analyst in the China Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Jack and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Jack on X @JackBurnham802. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.