Recruited on social media: US soldier accused of spying for China
Photo: US military officer accused of spying for China (wikimedia.org)
A San Diego jury has found a 25-year-old US sailor guilty of selling military information to Chinese intelligence, BBC reports.
US citizen Jinchao Wei served as a machinist’s mate aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Essex in San Diego.
Case details
According to investigators, Wei was recruited by Chinese intelligence through social media in February 2022. For some time, he passed along information about the ship he served on, as well as other US Navy vessels, including photographs. In return, he received $12,000. He was arrested in August 2023 on espionage charges.
At trial, prosecutors presented recordings of his phone calls, voice messages, and email correspondence with his Chinese handler.
Wei was arrested around the same time as his fellow sailor, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, who was convicted in 2024 of spying for China. Zhao passed along details of naval exercises in the Pacific, operational orders, and radar system schematics from a base in Okinawa. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
Sentencing for Wei is scheduled for December 1.
Earlier, the Netherlands for the first time publicly attributed cyber espionage to China, revealing in 2024 that state-backed hackers had gained access to the Dutch military network in 2023.
Reports have also noted that China is stepping up espionage activities in EU countries, with particular focus on semiconductor technologies.
