China’s ministry of state security says it has uncovered an alleged spy for the U.S Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 52-year-old Zeng, sent to Italy for studies, where he befriended a CIA agent stationed at the U.S embassy in Rome.
In a statement today, the ministry claimed that Zeng was found to have signed an espionage agreement with the U.S and received training before returning to China to carry out espionage activities.
Early this month, Ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, Mao Ning stated that china would encourage its citizens to join counter-espionage work, including creating channels for individuals to report suspicious activity as well as commending and rewarding them.
While The U.S embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment, state security spokersperson, Matthew Miller noted that china’s calls to normalize spy operation will have grave consequences.
Washington has also accused Beijing of espionage and cyberattacks, a charge that China has rejected.
