From 2008 to 2018, Xiaoqing Zheng of Niskayuna, New York, worked for GE Power as an engineer specializing in the sealing of turbines. In that role, Zheng accessed and stole information on turbine production, which was to be used by the Chinese state and affiliated entities in order to reproduce the turbines themselves.
“This is a case of textbook economic espionage. Zheng exploited his position of trust, betrayed his employer and conspired with the government of China to steal innovative American technology,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said.
Zheng was a member of the Thousand Talents Program, a Chinese government initiative to bring foreign experts and researchers to China in order to boost the country’s scientific capabilities.
Zheng joined the program in 2012, according to the Albany-area newspaper the Times Union.
“American ingenuity is an integral part of the United States economic security - it is what has guided the U.S. to become the global leader, even as China seeks to topple our status. Xiaoqing Zheng was a Thousand Talents Program member and willingly stole proprietary technology and sent it back to the PRC,” said FBI Counterintelligence Division Assistant Director Alan Kohler Jr.
Zheng will also have to pay a $7,500 fine and undergo a year of supervised release after the completion of his two-year sentence. Prosecutors had originally asked for a 97-month sentence for Zheng, according to the Albany Times Union.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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