A spy for the Chinese Ministry of State Security has been convicted by a federal jury of plotting to steal trade secrets from several U.S. aviation and aerospace companies, the Justice Department said on Friday.

Yanjun Xu is the first Chinese operative extradited to the United States after he was trapped by FBI agents in Belgium. 

Among the trade secrets that spy Yanjun Xu tried to steal on behalf of China was technology related to GE Aviation's composite aircraft engine fan, which has not been duplicated by any other company in the world, the Justice Department said.

Prosecutors said he paid industry experts to travel to China under the pretext of giving a university presentation on their subjects.

Operating under aliases, Xu targeted aviation experts in the U.S. and abroad, including a GE Aviation engineer in Cincinnati, Ohio. The engineer traveled to China in May 2017 to give a presentation and met Xu, who paid for the employee's travel expenses and a stipend.

The GE engineer, who no longer works for the company and has not been charged with a crime, brought confidential company documents with him, according to the FBI investigation.

Xu later asked the engineer to send him more of the company's information, but by that time the engineer was cooperating with the FBI to lure Xu to Belgium, where he was arrested in April 2018, according to the Justice Department.

In a statement, FBI Assistant Director Alan Kohler Jr. said the bureau was working with dozens of U.S. agencies to share information and resources to combat espionage operations by the People's Republic of China.

"For those who doubt the real goals of the People’s Republic of China, this should be a wakeup call; they are stealing American technology to benefit their economy and military," he said.

The ruling means Yanjun could face up to 60 years in prison total for all violations and fines totaling more than $5 million, according to a press release. He will be sentenced by a federal district court judge.

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