US Jails Two Chinese Nationals For Spying

Two Chinese nationals have been sentenced to two and a half years in prison each in the United States (US) for spying on behalf of China’s intelligence service, the US Justice Department said on Friday.

Liren “Ryan” Lai and Yuance Chen were convicted of acting as unregistered agents under the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). Court documents showed that the men gathered sensitive information about US military bases and personnel as part of a covert intelligence operation.

Their activities included photographing Navy Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington. The base houses US ballistic missile submarines and nuclear weapons. They also collected photographs and videos of military recruits and active-duty sailors at a Navy recruiting station in Southern California.

In addition, the men gathered personal information about US military personnel whom Chinese intelligence considered potential recruitment targets.

Prosecutors said Lai and Chen also helped arrange secret cash payments of at least $10,000 through a locker in Livermore, California, as part of the operation.

“Liren Lai and Yuance Chen operated in a long-running scheme to undermine U.S. national security by supporting Chinese intelligence operations and recruiting in the United States,” said John A. Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security.

He described the conspiracy as “extensive and brazen”.

According to court documents, the operation began around May 2021, when Lai recruited Chen and initially served as a link between him and unidentified MSS officers. Chen later began communicating directly with the Chinese intelligence service. The men also used secret phone communications to carry out their activities.

US authorities arrested both men on June 27, 2025. They later pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as agents of a foreign government without notifying the Justice Department. The case has also drawn attention to concerns about China’s use of unofficial intelligence agents in the United States.

A recent report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was not doing enough to address threats from nontraditional intelligence collectors. These collectors include unofficial agents who gather information through activities that may violate US laws or exploit gaps in national security regulations.

The report said national prosecutions and counterintelligence investigations showed that China’s MSS had used such agents for decades. It also cited efforts to recruit American scientists and academics through talent programmes, as well as operations targeting US companies to obtain advanced technology.

“The challenges the FBI faces in mitigating threats posed by NTCs, specifically the cultural differences between the FBI and academia, may impede the agency’s ability to fully address NTCs,” the report stated.

Meanwhile, FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the Counterintelligence and Espionage Division said the two men had admitted to carrying out intelligence activities on US soil.

“By their own admission, Chen and Lai operated as illegal agents for the Chinese government on U.S. soil, carrying out clandestine intelligence work that included making covert payments, collecting sensitive military information, and attempting to recruit American service members,” he said.

Rozhavsky added that China’s efforts to target members of the US military posed a threat to national security.