PROSECUTION OF CHINESE CORPORATE ESPIONAGE: THE CASE OF USA VS. YANJUN XU

U.S. corporations lose billions of dollars worth of technological innovation each year to China. On average, the FBI opens a new China related counterintelligence investigation every 12 hours. There are over 2,000 such investigations underway. One such case focused on Yanjun Xu, an alleged officer in the Chinese MSS (Ministry of State Security) intelligence apparatus. He was accused of seeking to steal General Electric/Aviation jet engine technology. A unique feature of his case is that it he allegedly did so without ever setting foot in the United States. During the investigation the FBI lured Xu to Belgium in 2018 and he was extradited to the U.S. In October, 2021 he was convicted of two counts of conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage. Xu was also convicted of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft and two counts of attempted theft of trade secrets. He was defended by the Taft Law Firm in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jim Schnell was hired by the Taft Law Firm to serve as a litigation consultant in the case and this affords him the opportunity to share relevant cultural variables associated with the case without revelation of confidential information.