Two arrested on suspicion of espionage for China in Munich
A married couple is suspected of establishing contacts with scientists on behalf of China. The two have now been arrested. Authorities have been warning of Chinese espionage for years. By M. Götschenberg and H. Schmidt.
Arrests in Munich: married couple suspected of recruiting researchers for China
The Federal Prosecutor's Office has ordered the arrest of a married couple in Munich on suspicion of working for Chinese intelligence. According to Tagesschau, searches of the homes and workplaces of the suspects are ongoing.
The suspects Xuejun C. and Hua S. are accused of posing as interpreters or employees of an automobile company in order to establish targeted contact with scientists at German universities and research institutions. The focus was primarily on university professors in the fields of aeronautics and space technology, computer science and artificial intelligence.
After making successful contact, some of the scientists are alleged to have been lured to China — ostensibly to give paid lectures to a civilian audience. In reality, these events are said to have been attended mainly by Chinese military personnel, intelligence officers and employees of state defence companies.
The investigation was initially driven forward by the counterespionage division of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The Federal Prosecutor's Office subsequently tasked the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office with the arrests, which it eventually carried out. In addition, investigators have approached a total of ten other individuals who may be considered witnesses. The corresponding measures are taking place in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Series of Chinese espionage cases in Germany
The case is part of a series of similar proceedings. In May 2025, the Attorney General indicted three German nationals before the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court for allegedly operating on behalf of Chinese intelligence. A married couple and another man are said to have run a company in order to establish contact with companies and research institutions in Germany. According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office's assessment, this was about militarily useful technologies — including boat engines, sonar and aircraft protection systems, tank drives as well as military-deployable drones. The original espionage charge was dropped during the trial; proceedings continue on suspicion of breaches of the Foreign Trade and Payments Act.
German courts have also documented Chinese espionage activities in the political sphere. In April 2024, the Federal Prosecutor's Office ordered the arrest of Jian G., an assistant to AfD Member of the European Parliament Maximilian Krah. G. is said to have worked for Chinese intelligence since 2002 and, after Krah entered the European Parliament in 2019, passed on information from parliamentary operations as well as information about the AfD. He is also said to have spied on Chinese opposition figures and dissidents in Germany.
Approximately half a year after G.'s arrest, a Chinese national who worked for a logistics company at Leipzig/Halle airport was arrested. She is said to have provided G. with information about the transport of defence equipment and flights by personnel from the German defence industry. Both were sentenced to several years in prison; the sentences are not yet final.
German counterespionage has been warning for years that China is systematically targeting the transfer of technology and scientific information.
Source: Tagesschau